


Boats Against the Current

by Gabrielle



Series: Folly/Later in the Ashes/Boats Against the Current [3]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-02
Updated: 2009-12-02
Packaged: 2017-10-04 02:15:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 50,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabrielle/pseuds/Gabrielle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Sequel to <i>Later in the Ashes</i>* Angel and Willow are living together in Los Angeles, but their happy existence is soon disrupted by visions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Boats Against the Current (Chapter One)

 

"Peaches, Red! You'd better both be decent because the cheerleader's gone sibyl again and I'm not going to be the one to try to make sense of it this time." Spike's something-other-than-dulcet tones broke through the previously erotic haze Angel had been lost in with his love. Not for the first time, he cursed the PTB and their timing. Did they have to send visions while he was in bed with Willow?

"Just a minute, Spike," Willow caroled, her voice belying the frustration easily read in both her face and her scent. Was it wrong that Angel was glad he wasn't alone in his annoyance?

He tried his best not to look at her while she hastily dressed and he did likewise. Filling his eyes with the view of her naked body was no way to get his mind into the right place to help decipher Cordelia's latest vision. With any luck, it was something they'd be able to put off 'til later.

Not two minutes later, they were in the office with a groggy seer and a very annoying, smirking Spike. He scratched his nose ostentatiously, letting Angel know he knew exactly what had been interrupted. Why on Earth hadn't he staked the insolent bastard a century ago?

Willow, naturally, was oblivious to the undercurrents, or at least she appeared that way. She was busy soothing Cordelia, just as she always did. The first time she'd done a healing spell and taken away the agony of Cordelia's post-vision headache, Angel was sure that, had Cordelia been even slightly bisexual, he'd have had a rival for Willow's affections. Even now, the grateful look on Cordelia's face was something to behold.

"So, Mayflower, what's the word from the voices on high then?"

The grateful look was gone in an instant, replaced by the irritated expression Spike brought to every face save Willow's.

"That's May _Queen_, you bleached-out loser."

"Sorry, those crow's-feet of yours made me think Early America."

"What crow's-feet?" Cordelia's fingers moved immediately to the corners of her eyes. "I don't have any crow's-feet. I'll have you know I use an excellent moisturizer _and_ I have very good genes, mister."

Angel hated himself as he stifled a chuckle. Loath as he was to admit it, as long as he was not the object of Spike's deviltry, the boy's antics were actually entertaining. He had a genuine talent for getting under people's skin.

Of course, Willow soon put a stop to the festivities. "Spike," she chided, sounding so much like a stern schoolmarm that Angel's head was soon full of delicious schoolroom fantasies, "Be nice." She glared and Angel nearly moaned. He needed a ruler, a desk, and some serious alone time with his lover…and soon.

"What did you see?" Willow asked, her attention now focused on Cordelia.

It took his somewhat priority-challenged seer a moment to get her mind back on something more important than her disparaged appearance, but she did. "It looked like a doctor's office. A really creepy one. There were all these examining tables and it was all white. But it was weird, because there were demons there." She looked confused. "Are there doctors for demons?" she asked of no one in particular.

If Cordelia seemed unsure, Willow didn't, nor did Spike. They both looked terrified. Angel immediately went to Willow and took her in his arms. "What is it?" he asked as he stroked her hair.

"The Initiative," Spike answered in her stead. "It's got to be the bloody Initiative."

Angel held Willow tighter and his eyes locked with Spike's. All levity was gone. There was, after all, nothing funny about the organization that had chipped Spike and tried to capture him and Willow – the organization whose leading member was currently bedding Angel's ex-girlfriend.

"Did you see anything else, Cordelia?" Angel asked, his arms still around Willow.

"No. Not that I can remember. Except…" She looked as if she was trying to recall something. "There was something that reminded me of Darryl. But I don't know what it was." She was frustrated now and Angel was completely lost. Darryl?

"You mean creepy, dead Darryl? The one who wanted to turn you into Elsa Lanchester?" At least one of them knew who Cordelia was talking about.

"Wasn't she the girl from _Casablanca_?" Now Angel wasn't the only one confused.

"That was Ilsa _Lund_, Cordy. Elsa Lanchester played the Bride of Frankenstein."

"It was way after your time," Spike quipped.

That went right over Cordelia's head, thank heavens, because they really needed to stay focused on the vision and what it meant. Angel had a sinking feeling that this was going to necessitate a trip to Sunnydale. He let go of Willow and paced for a moment.

"For those of us who had better things to do with their days than spend them paying attention to the cheerleader's life, care to share just who this Darryl is and what, if anything, is important about him?"

Cordelia seemed about to answer Spike back and send this conversation careening off topic, but Willow stopped her with a look. The school teacher image came caroming back into his mind and he willed his body not to react. He was blissfully content to have Spike focus his sarcasm on Cordelia. What did he pay her for, after all? It's not as if she were a competent secretary and the visions weren't nearly as helpful as her salary would suggest.

"I'm back." Wesley's voice broke through Angel's reverie. He marched in carrying a Styrofoam tray of coffee cups and a bag that gave off the scent of warm doughnuts.

"Good," Spike said, rushing over to grab the bag and get his pick of pastry first. Typical. "You're just in time to hear some dull story about Cordelia's life in prehistoric days."

This time, Willow took offense. "Hey! I was there, too, you know."

Spike looked chastened. He handed his doughnut to Willow along with a cup of coffee he filched from the tray. "Yes, but you hadn't been held back ten or so odd times. You were just a wee lass then."

"Getting back to Darryl," Angel interposed.

"Oh, yeah," Willow said. "He was Cordelia's boyfriend and then he died, but his brother brought him back to life as kind of a zombie, only conscious and thinking and stuff. They were trying to create a girlfriend for him out of the parts of recently dead girls but then they decided to use Cordelia's head."

"Which makes sense since _she_ wasn't using it."

"Spike!" Willow headed Cordelia off at the pass. "Can you be serious, please? This could be really important."

"Sorry, pet."

Even Angel thought Spike's venom was a bit excessive, though at least he didn't have to worry that it signified some sort of romantic interest in Cordelia on Spike's part. His childe would never be foolish enough to target her appearance if that were the case.

"Think. Can you remember what specifically reminded you of Darryl?"

"No, I'm sorry. Maybe if the neutered Chihuahua over there hadn't distracted me…"

"Not another word," Willow said before Spike even had a chance to open his mouth. "You deserved that."

Angel didn't even chuckle this time. He was too caught up in what the confusion meant. Now it was certain - they were not going to be able to handle this from here.

"I suppose this means we will have to return to Sunnydale." Wesley's voice was subdued. Not that Angel blamed him; the town held no fond memories for the one-time Watcher.

It wasn't exactly the garden spot of the Western world to Angel, either. His desire to see Buffy and the others again was about as great as his desire to bathe in holy water in a sunlit room. But he couldn't conceive of any way to avoid the journey. Cordelia's visions always necessitated personal intervention. Still, he was at least going to spare the newest member of the team.

"You don't have to go, Wesley. In fact, it would probably be better if you stayed here and kept an eye on things while we're gone. Someone needs to be around in case anything happens." Wesley seemed torn between feeling relieved and insulted. Too bad about the latter, but Angel actually did think it wise to leave someone at the helm here in case things went south.

"I'm going." Spike said, uncharacteristically subdued and in a tone that Angel wasn't about to argue with, even if he had intended to leave him behind in the first place, which he hadn't.

"Of course you are." Willow walked over and put her hand on his arm. It had taken some time for Angel to become comfortable with their friendship, but he had, and now he was glad of it. And not just because it had helped keep him out of Spike's line of verbal fire most of the time

Wesley appeared utterly crestfallen, but Angel wasn't about to change his mind. He knew full well what Wesley's emotional baggage could do in a crisis like this and he wasn't about to allow the man's insecurities to cause their mission to come a cropper.

"We really do need you here, Wes. What if there's information in your books that we need or if Angel gets a client or something?" Willow to the rescue. There were reasons Angel loved her. Good ones.

Wesley gave her a half-smile. "Well, then. I will stay here and attend to the business. Do call me should the need for my help arise. After all, I can get to Sunnydale quite easily."

"Will do."

Well, now that the matter of just how many troops were headed to Sunnydale was settled… "I'll go call Giles and let him know we'll be paying a visit."

"I can do that." Willow looked puzzled.

He walked back and kissed her on the forehead. "It's okay. He and I really need to talk anyway. I've been putting it off for too long." With that, he headed downstairs to use the cell phone Willow had made him buy. This was definitely going to be a private conversation.

It wasn't lost on him that Willow had only been getting glowing reports of how things were going in her absence. While he understood that her friends were trying to keep her from feeling guilty about leaving, today's vision clarified suspicions he'd had for awhile: Willow was being fed a pack of lies. Which was why Angel had elected to make the phone call today. He knew he could get to the bottom of things.

He looked up the number in Willow's address book. She wouldn't see that as snooping. A few seconds later, the number was dialed and the phone at the other end was ringing.

"Hello?" A once familiar British accent echoed in Angel's ear and made him pause before speaking. Was he ever going to stop feeling guilty about Jenny? Did he even have that right?

"Rupert. It's Angel."

He could feel the man's discomfort crackling through the ether. No, Angel was never going to be able to let go of the burden of Jenny's death.

"Is something wrong? Is Willow all right?"

"She's fine." Angel was touched at his concern. "But I'm wondering if you are." The beginning of a stutter could be heard and Angel decided to cut to the chase. "I know what you've told Willow, and I understand why you'd want to whitewash things for her. But Cordelia had a vision just now and it seems like maybe the Initiative is giving you more trouble than you let on."

Silence. Which was really all the answer Angel needed. "We're on our way."

Giles, naturally, attempted to dissuade him. "There's really no need. I am quite sure we can handle this ourselves."

"Cordelia had a vision, which means we're supposed to be there."

"Yes, you did say that, didn't you? Willow's told me about these visions, but…are you certain? This is Cordelia Chase, after all, and…"

He would have taken offense, but he could see Giles's point. Cordelia was not the most reliable person in the world and anyone unfamiliar with who had passed the gift on to her might well doubt it. "I'm certain. Cordelia might be…Cordelia, but the visions are from the Powers That Be."

"Of course. So we can expect you soon, I take it?" Giles paused. Angel knew what was coming. "There is something we ought to discuss."

"My relationship with Willow."

"Yes, exactly. I know that you two are very much in love." Those last words seemed to pain the man, but at least he said them. "However, I don't think that now would be the most opportune moment for you to share the news."

"Trouble in paradise?" Angel was pretty sure Giles got his meaning.

"No, not that, it's simply…"

"I'm not in love with her anymore, if that's what you're afraid of. Even if my soul were safe with her, it's over."

"I know. But it's reassuring to hear you say it." No surprise there, but the next words out of his mouth? _Those _were unexpected. "I would hate to see Willow hurt. After what happened with Oz…if someone were to break her heart again, I should feel compelled to do something about it." The tone in Giles's voice, harder and colder than usual, made Angel happy, if slightly nervous. He knew how much Giles meant to Willow. He was glad to see her affection was returned.

"I'd never hurt her. " He waited a moment, hoping that his own tone of voice carried weight as well. It did, or it seemed to, since Giles didn't reply. "But I agree that we ought to keep my relationship with Willow under wraps for now. The news would be a distraction and I have a feeling that would be bad."

"Quite."

"You'll fill us in when we get there?" He wasn't really asking a question.

"Yes."

"Good. We'll be leaving at sundown."

"I'll let everyone know you're coming."

"Good idea."

"Where will you be staying?"

"Willow's house, I'm pretty sure. I think her parents are in Hong Kong for the next few weeks. Wherever they are, it isn't Sunnydale, so that's convenient." He didn't mention that Willow's parents hadn't actually given Willow their itinerary. She'd let curiosity and concern get the better of her and hacked into their email accounts and flight records. There had been more than a few tears that day. He still marveled at how two uncaring, useless husks had given birth to such a loving and wonderful girl.

"Yes, well, they've not been back to Sunnydale since Willow left, so I agree that it's safe to assume they won't be here anytime in the foreseeable future. "

"See you soon."

"Goodbye, Angel."

And with that, the call ended. Giles had, he realized, put up only a token protest. That was worrying.

His thoughts were broken into by a welcome arrival. "Hey. How'd the phone call go?" Her timing was perfect and Angel was almost suspicious.

She picked up on that. "I wasn't listening in. I just know how much you hate talking on the phone and I figured this was the longest you'd stay on."

"You figured right." He took her in his arms and kissed her. It started as a soft and affectionate gesture, but it quickly turned passionate.

When the kiss ended, she gazed up into his eyes. "What was that about?" Her gaze grew shrewd. "Something bad is going on, isn't it? I kinda knew everyone was lying."

"I don't have any details yet, but yeah, I got that feeling."

"Yeah. It was starting to sound a little too good to be true. Sunnydale's never that trouble-free. Not even during the summer." She grew quiet and she let go of him, walking over to a chair to sit down. He could tell that her thoughts were going in a different direction now.

"Willow," he said, walking to her chair and kneeling beside it. "You don't have anything to worry about." They both knew he wasn't referring to the potential battle with the Initiative.

"I wasn't…"

"You were," he chided. "I understand. But that part of my life is over. I don't love her anymore. I love you."

Her eyes had traces of tears in them. She was still so insecure. He stood up and pulled her out of the chair and back into his arms. This time, there was nothing soft in their kiss. It was needy and hot and obviously a prelude to making love. His hands moved over her back as he began to untuck her blouse from her skirt. He mentally calculated the time they would need to pack for the trip to Sunnydale. Yes, there was enough time for a tryst with his lover.

Or there would have been if…

"Red, Poof, you'd better get back up here." From the top of the stairs came that grating voice he so despised. "Lady Wonder's had herself another vision."

_This_ was something to worry about, and Angel and Willow both knew it. He got his hormones under control and they headed back up to the office.

Willow ran to Cordelia as soon as they got upstairs. "Are you okay?" She didn't wait for an answer. Angel saw that familiar look that came over her as she chanted under her breath. "Is that better?"

"Thanks, Willow," Cordelia said. "At least you understand what I go through, unlike _some_ people." She glared at Spike. Oh great, here we go again.

"Look, you two, as much as I _don't_ enjoy watching you bicker, can we please just stay on track so that we get everything we can out of Cordy's latest message from the PTB?" Willow glared at the both of them, her Resolve Face in all its glory being put to excellent use.

Oh for that ruler and an empty office.

"What did you see?" Willow asked.

"It's weird," Cordelia replied, her face screwed up in confusion. "I mean, it looked like Buffy, which is scary enough, only…I'm not sure it was Buffy. Does that make sense?"

"No, but…"

Angel cut Spike off. "Does this have anything to do with what you saw earlier?"

"I…I don't know." Cordelia looked confused…and a bit scared. She knew that two visions like this in quick succession did not bode well. The trip to Sunnydale was something akin to driving fully aware to one's own doom.

"Well, that was useful," Spike said with as much sarcasm as it was possible to pack into four short words. "And now that we're so well prepared, we've got nothing at all to worry about. Except the sure death the dim bulb of a seer is leading us towards."

"That was entirely uncalled for." This time it was Wesley to the rescue. "Visions can be enormously difficult to interpret or understand and after all, this is all very new to her and…"

"Yeah, yeah. In the meantime, we'd be better off with Xander Harris as a seer."

Cordelia was on her feet and it was obvious it was taking all of Willow's strength to restrain the angry girl. "Let me go," she shrieked, grabbing the very ruler Angel had been thinking of finding from a drawer. "I am so going to stake him right now!"

Spike smirked and then put his hands before his face in a gesture of mock fright. "Oh. I'm so scared."

Angel decided it was time to put an end to this. It might have been entertaining at another time, but now it was getting in the way. More importantly, it was upsetting Willow. "That's it! Both of you! The bickering stops right now. We have important things to worry about and the two of you just need to grow up." He slammed his fist down on the table next to the coffeemaker for emphasis and everyone seemed to get it. Good.

"We'd better pack," Willow said softly.

"Good idea." Cordelia then flounced out of the office, turning her nose up at Spike as she did.

"Spike, you really need to be nicer to her," Willow said after she'd gone.

"What do you want? You can't expect me to be nice to both Peaches _and_ the airhead."

Willow threw up her hands, gauging correctly that Angel wanted to get to their packing. "I give up. Go pack. But you'd better be on your best behavior when we're driving to Sunnydale. I am not putting up with you two fighting the whole trip." She stopped for a moment before adding, "Or even part of it."

With that, Angel took her arm and led her back downstairs.

It was funny, but unlike Willow, Angel was fine with things as they were. He was more than content to allow Spike to keep ribbing Cordelia, at least as long as it didn't interfere with their mission. He knew himself well enough now to accept that he could care about humanity without developing a great many personal attachments. Sure, he cared about Cordelia and Wesley, but it was the same way he had once cared about Xander and Giles. Would he risk his life to save theirs? Certainly. But was he unduly concerned about the smaller matter of their comfort and contentment? No, he had to admit, he wasn't.

Willow was different; she cared about everyone. Within minutes of seeing him again, her attitude towards Wesley had changed to one of warmth and compassion and friendship. She went out of her way to try to make him feel better about himself and to help him get past his abject failure as a Watcher. She and Cordelia had put aside years of acrimony and were now as close as could be. What did she think, Angel wondered, about his entirely dissimilar orientation to the people around him?

He loved Willow more passionately than he'd ever loved anyone as human or demon. Doyle was dead, but he thought about his friend every single day. He cared about Spike because he was family and he couldn't help it. Other than that…

He pulled Willow into an embrace as soon as they were alone. There would be time to worry about this another day, a day when they weren't on their way back to a town full of bad memories, the booby traps of a past he nearly regretted, and dangers still nebulous and uncertain…dangers whose reality finally hit him.

"I love you," he said. There were so many other things he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the words for his thoughts.

"I love you, too," she said, her brow crinkling slightly, knowing there was something behind his words. "You better not be thinking of suggesting I stay behind with Wesley."

Oddly, he hadn't thought of that at all. The old-fashioned chauvinist within him wouldn't concede her ability to protect herself, at least not without a struggle, but deep down he knew she wasn't helpless, and between himself and Spike, he was certain she'd be safe.

"No. I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you and…"

"You're thinking about Buffy."

He was saddened, but not surprised that the reassurance he'd offered a short time ago hadn't been enough. "I don't want you to worry about her."

He let her go and she walked a few steps, looking down at the ground as she did. "It's hard, Angel. You loved her and…"

"It was nothing compared to what I feel for you." He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him, then forcing her to meet his eyes. "I love you. You need to hear that and believe it. I've never loved anyone, not even Buffy, the way I love you. It's as simple as that."

He kissed her. This time, nothing was going to interrupt them. Hell, Spike could come in and watch for all he cared. They could pack later. Or they could skip the packing and buy everything they needed at the local mall once they got to Sunnydale. It didn't matter. Right now, Angel needed to make sure Willow knew how intensely he felt about her and to feel that passion returned. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Nothing was more important to him more right now than making love to Willow.

Tbc…


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in Sunnydale, it's clear that things have changed.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Two)

 

It was 9 A.M. Any minute now, Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Anya would be arriving here at the house and they could get the lowdown on what had really been going on in Sunnydale while Willow was away.

Spike and Cordelia were uncharacteristically subdued. He understood the reason for Spike's reserve, but Cordelia had him baffled. She had spent an inordinate amount of time on her appearance this morning, even for her, and she was sitting at the edge of her chair, nervously clenching and unclenching her hands, not saying a word.

No more time to ponder the vagaries of seers. Willow was coming in from the kitchen.

"Hey, guys. Just moved the car into the garage. I think a Mercedes would be a little too tough to explain away." She gave Angel a baleful look. Not this again. He'd fought her tooth and nail about the car. The mate of a master vampire was not going to drive around in a Toyota. Other demons would think he didn't take care of what was his. While a part of him admired her lack of pretension, he wasn't going to give in to it when it came to supporting her in proper style. That was that.

"You could always say the car belongs to Peaches." Spike to the rescue.

"And Angel is so the type to have two cars. Hello? I'm pretty sure Buffy will remember the convertible." Cordelia couldn't resist the opportunity to take sides against Spike, even if it also meant taking sides against her boss.

"Enough," Angel said, not wanting a fight to break out that might upset Willow. "They'll be here any minute and it would help if we acted like the professionals we're supposed to be."

He meant it, too. He wanted nothing more than to show off the skills of his crew, to show that he'd turned the people Giles had taken for granted into a crack team that put Xander and Giles and - yes - Buffy to shame.

Maybe Wesley wasn't the only one with lingering issues.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. It had to be Giles, either by himself or with the others in tow. There wasn't the slightest chance that Buffy and Xander had acquired the manners to suddenly start waiting before opening the door to the home of someone they knew even casually.

Willow glanced at him anxiously. He knew how hard this was for her. She loved these people and it was hard for her to see them while keeping secrets. No amount of affection and reassurance could stop her from feeling guilty.

A moment later, she got up and went to the door. Angel had been right; Giles was there. He walked in, followed closely by Buffy and Xander and a petite, hard-faced brunette Angel vaguely remembered. Ah yes, it was Anya, former vengeance demon and currently Xander Harris's mattress toy. All he remembered about her was a lot of whining and a less than remorseful attitude about her former exploits.

Xander immediately pulled Willow into a hug and Angel stifled a growl. "It's great to see you, Will."

"It's great to see you, too." She gave him a toothy grin. Her affection for the useless boy left Angel baffled, but there was nothing he could do about it. Willow was a soft-hearted creature and that came with baggage - baggage he was just going to have to put up with.

Xander let her go – not soon enough for Angel's liking – and Willow was immediately grabbed by Buffy.

"Wills! I missed you!"

"I missed you, too."

Buffy let her go in turn and Anya made no move to show any affection. Not terribly surprising given what Willow had told him about their relationship. Giles, of course, was too reserved for physical displays.

His ex-lover seemed to just notice his presence. Her face clouded over and got that pained look which he was starting to see as a bit of a cliché. She had a new boyfriend. Wasn't it about time she gave up the ghost?

"Angel, how nice it _isn't_ to see you." Thanks, Xander. Good to know you still have that amazing non-gift of repartee.

"Harris." Angel had no intention of pretending to like the boy just because Willow insisted on clinging to him as a ridiculous souvenir of bygone days.

"So, is there a reason we have to be here? Because Xander's missing work, which means he's not getting paid, which means…"

"Yes, Anya. We're quite well aware. And yes, this is very important." Giles sounded exasperated but resigned.

Angel couldn't believe the man put up with this. The first sentence out of Anya's mouth told Angel _he_ wouldn't put up with her for two minutes if she were dating someone who worked for him. In fact, he had no intention of putting up with her now. "If you'd like to leave, I'm sure we can deal with the dangers to Sunnydale without you. There's the door. I assume you know your way home."

Willow's mouth hung open, Spike didn't bother to hide his smirk, and Anya looked at Xander as if she were waiting for him to pull out a stake or something. Luckily, the boy knew better.

"If you're staying, sit down." The 'and shut up' was clearly implied and Anya was fuming. She did, however, do as she was told.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Xander. "Who died and named you the boss, Deadboy?"

"Well at least Angel's a real demon, unlike your girlfriend." Angel was surprised for a moment at the venom in Cordelia's voice. But then everything started to make sense. The extra effort to look her best, the nerves… Well, make that one more person with lingering issues about Sunnydale. He felt a pang for Doyle. His friend had been so far superior to Xander Harris.

"Can we just try and get along. Please?" Willow hated discord and Angel slightly regretted having created any. Still, he was not going to sit back and let the Sunnydale gang run the show. It was _his_ seer, after all, who'd been sent visions, _his_ help the PTB had solicited.

"Yes. I don't think there's anything to be gained by bickering amongst ourselves." Giles at least knew how to be the voice of reason. Mild, treacly reason, but reason, nonetheless.

"So what was the vision?" Buffy was heard from at last. He could tell by her expression that she was discomfited by the fact that he wasn't gazing at her with restrained longing. She would have to accept that he was over her soon enough; may as well start the process now. He was willing to go along with concealing his relationship with Willow, but he had no intention of pretending he still carried a torch for Buffy.

"I saw this laboratory and there were all these demons in it and…"

"That's it? That's what you saw?" Buffy snorted condescendingly at Cordelia. Angel could tell that she was almost enjoying the chance to put Cordelia down.

"She also got something that reminded her of Darryl. You remember? The guy who wanted to make himself a bride using Cordelia's head?" Willow to the rescue. Angel fought to keep from smiling at her.

Buffy, however, had gone a bit white. "That must be Adam. Maybe you guys were sent here for a reason after all."

"Gee, Buffy, thanks heaps." Cordelia looked offended, as she had a right to be. Angel himself was rather affronted by Buffy's superior attitude.

"Who's Adam?" Willow asked helpfully.

"He's a creature Walsh made out of various demon parts. He's…very dangerous."

"How so?" Angel needed to get as much information as he could. The longer he was here, the more he wanted to just get the job done and go home.

"I could barely fight him. He batted me around like a rag doll. Riley couldn't even get a punch in."

"I didn't do too well against him either," Xander chimed in, rather unnecessarily. If he had been Xander, he wouldn't be admitting to having been anywhere near the creature; the visions the boy's statement brought up were comical.

Anya patted her boyfriend's arm, then tucked hers around it. Seemed like the wagons were circling.

"I can see why we were sent here then. Obviously this isn't something you can handle by yourselves." Buffy was staring at him curiously, neither understanding nor appreciating his no-nonsense attitude. Tough. "I'm thinking we need to find this Walsh person and get her to tell us what exactly this thing she created is."

"That might be a little bit difficult."

"Why?"

"Because she's dead."

Well, that _was_ a bit of a stumbling block. But not insurmountable.

"Don't expect me to send flowers to the bitch's funeral." Angel rather agreed with Spike on that one. They might not have a close relationship in the human sense, had even tried to kill each other on occasion, but Spike was his childe and Angel was bent on exacting retribution for the barbarous torture inflicted on him.

"I'm sure Willow can find something for us on the computer," Cordelia chimed in.

"I can try." Willow sounded worried, and Angel understood. There was an undercurrent of hurt, as well. He knew how much it must pain her that her friends had told her none of this until this morning, had not even reached out to her for help.

Even now, Angel was sure they were getting an edited version, though he was pretty well convinced they were getting what mattered.

"Was there anything else you saw, Cordelia?" Giles asked. Angel shot the seer a look. For some reason, call it instinct, he felt they should hold back on that second vision.

Luckily, for once, Cordelia was quick on the uptake. "No, that was it. And believe me, the headache it gave me? More than enough, too."

"So, Cordy, how's the seer thing treating you?" Xander asked. "Do you get advance knowledge of upcoming sales or anything?"

Angel decided to step in this time. Not so much to defend Cordelia, but to defend Doyle. It had been _his_ gift first. "It's not a joke, Xander. Cordelia has a gift from the Powers That Be. A gift that was passed on to her by my closest friend…right before he died."

That shut the moron up, and good thing.

Willow's eyes met his and he drew comfort from the love he could see in them. Thinking of Doyle still hurt and he was grateful for her understanding. She'd been there for him from the moment he'd called her.

But just as soon as she looked at him, she looked away, obviously afraid that one of her friends would figure out that Angel was more than just her friend and employer.

The silence grew more and more awkward, no one quite knowing what to say or how to say it. In a way, he was glad. That meant the Sunnydale gang was intimidated. But on the other hand, it would make working together more challenging, and it was obviously distressing Willow, who badly wanted her friends' approval and affection.

"I think we should give Willow some time to get online and see what she can find and then have another meeting to see what we can do. Whatever this creature is, he's obviously a real threat." Angel turned to Buffy. "How did Walsh die?" He had a hunch he knew the answer, but asking would help break down the wall that was forming.

"My money's on Adam. Part of him came from a Polgara demon and that's what the wounds looked like."

"Polgaras are dumber than Fyarl demons, so my guess is that's not where his head came from." Spike was right about the stupidity, though the Fyarl reference seemed odd until Angel remembered something – that was the demon Giles had been turned into.

"No, Spike, it was his arm, actually." Buffy obviously took umbrage at the implied insult to her Watcher. "I think we need to bring Riley in on this."

"What?" Amazingly, it wasn't just Angel and his crew who were aghast at Buffy's suggestion. Xander and Giles didn't seem too thrilled with the idea either.

"Buffy, are you quite sure? There are members of the Initiative who believe _you_ are to blame for Walsh's death and we're not entirely certain where Riley's loyalties lie. You yourself said he's been acting strangely."

"Giles, he's the best source of information we have. And I trust him."

"Yeah, well, you've never been the subject of one of his experiments, now have you, Slayer?"

Angel decided to let Spike do the objecting. Any words of protest spoken by _him_ would be misconstrued by Buffy as stemming from a still-smoldering torch.

"I know he's your boyfriend and all, Buffy," Willow said in a conciliatory manner, "But are we sure he'll be okay working with not-quite humans? I mean, he's bound to remember Spike, and then there's Angel, and Anya, and…well…_me_."

"Will, you're human, remember?" Buffy looked at her strangely.

"Yeah, but I do magic and stuff and…" Her voice trailed off. She obviously did not want to mention the fact that she wore Angel's mark.

"I don't think a few spells make you a supernatural creature."

Heedless of what impression he might create, Angel leapt in. "She's done more than a few spells, Buffy. She restored my soul, for one thing, and she uses magic all the time now. Wesley says she has more potential than anyone he's ever seen."

Buffy seemed suitably chastened. But Giles was the one who was giving Willow a searching look, his eyes narrowing and his brow creased in thought. Maybe he was finally seeing… Well, tough luck. Because she was Angel's now and she was never going to be a Scooby again.

"Perhaps we should let Willow do some research and meet again tonight."

"But what about catching up? I haven't seen my bestest bud in weeks," Xander whined.

"Xander, I think you should just let Willow do her job. After all, she gets paid for it." Anya's expression had gone unattractively sullen and sour. She was obviously eager to get her boyfriend out of there. This would probably be the only moment in time when Angel and Anya were on the same page.

"Besides, it's not like we can do much before nightfall. Spike and I will head to Willie's later and see what we can hear through the demon grapevine."

"I've already been there, Angel. Willie doesn't know anything," Buffy sniped.

"No offense, Buffy, but I think the demons will be more forthcoming with their own kind." Buffy, Giles, and even Xander looked stunned. None of them were accustomed to Angel so frankly acknowledging what he was. He'd almost forgotten how much his relationship with Willow had changed him

 

"Yes, well, that sounds like an excellent plan. We should all be going now." He knew that Giles was going to be ruminating on his behaviour; the man had always considered his nature an epistemological puzzle. "I think we should reconvene this meeting at my home shortly after sundown."

"No. Make it seven. That will give Spike and I chance to nose around at Willie's first."

"Seven it is." Giles looked rather unsettled at having been so casually relegated to a lower place on the chain of command, not that Angel actually gave a tinker's dam.

Buffy was too _distrait_ to voice any objections. Now there was a first. There had been a time, seemingly eons ago, when his ability to discombobulate her so easily would have fed his ego. Today was not that time. They needed a Slayer at the top of her game and, more importantly, _he_ didn't need to be part of an imaginary love triangle which included a sadistic commando with a penchant for maiming and brutalizing his kind.

"Well, Xander, today won't be a total loss. Since you've taken the day off work, you can stay home and give me orgasms."

Xander's expression was as close to total humiliation as he'd ever seen on him, but the boy said nothing. Angel was appalled. There was a word for women who spoke that way in mixed company, and it wasn't a complimentary one. Since Buffy and Giles merely rolled their eyes, he decided to let her offensive behaviour pass.

A few mumbled pleasantries by way of goodbye were all that stood in the way of the closing of the door behind their departing visitors and those were soon dispensed with. The living room soon contained no one but himself, Willow, Spike, and Cordelia.

"Well, that was sure a delightful reunion," Cordelia said in a voice which dripped with enough sarcasm to stain the carpeting.

"Oh, I don't know. It was almost worth the price of admission to see the Slayer get taken down a few pegs. Gotta say, Peaches, it was a treat watching her face get that heartbroken look when you didn't moon over her like a fanged puppy."

"Spike," he admonished, not wanting his childe's words to augment Willow's guilt.

Spike turned to Willow, obviously picking up on just what Angel objected to in his words. "Sorry, Red."

"It's okay," she said, though it clearly wasn't.

"Did you hear what Anya said? How could Xander date a woman like that?"

"I don't know that I'd call what they're doing 'dating', ducks."

"EWWW!"

"My feelings exactly, believe me. I was tied to a chair in the whelp's basement until Willow let me stay here and I saw much more than I ever want to remember." Spike shuddered dramatically for emphasis.

Angel stood outside the conversation, observing and noting what was said and how. It was obvious Cordelia had lingering feelings for Harris and that was not, to Angel's mind, auspicious news. Not only because it was an insult to Doyle's memory, but because it might interfere with her return to Los Angeles. She was his seer, but he didn't have a great deal of faith in her understanding of the nature of duty and commitment right now.

There were other things to attend to, however, and far more important ones. Willow was lost in somber thought and it concerned him.

"Willow?" he said, hoping to rouse her from her brown study. "Why don't we go upstairs and talk?"

Spike was about to make a remark, but held his tongue. Angel was glad of that as he wasn't in the mood to remind the brat just who was in charge.

Cordelia said nothing, too caught up in fretting over her childhood swain, so Angel took Willow by the arm and guided her out of the room and upstairs for some privacy. He closed the door to her parents' room and sat on the bed, patting the space next to him. She got the hint and sat beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just…" She turned to him, her eyes wide and full of emotion, along with the beginnings of tears. "It's not like I thought it would be, you know? I've hardly been gone and it's already like I don't belong here. I feel like an outsider and…" With that, the dam burst and she was in his arms, crying bitterly.

"Shhh…sweetheart, it's alright. I'm sure it's not like that." He wasn't sure if he was lying to her or not, but it was the only thing he could say. "Everyone's just on edge right now, with Adam and everything."

She kept crying; he wasn't even sure she'd heard him. Just as well, he supposed. Better for her to just let it all out.

A few moments later, she sat up, struggling to regain her composure. "Angel?" she asked, her voice choked with the last of her sobs. "Are you okay?"

He wondered what brought that on. He didn't have to inquire, however, as she answered him before the question could form on his tongue.

"I mean, you seemed really cold downstairs. Was that because you were worried about me being afraid of…" Her voice trailed off. He knew what she meant, but she was mistaken.

"I wasn't cold, Willow. Just businesslike. You're right, Buffy still has illusions and I have no interest in humouring her or nursing her through them. We're here because of Cordelia's visions, and that's it. I know you feel differently, but I have no ties to this town."

She stared for a moment, eyes like saucers; he could see the wheels turning behind them. "You mean that, don't you?" It wasn't a question, not really.

"Yes, I do."

Did she understand the full meaning behind that truth? He wasn't sure. If she did, she chose not to explore it further. Instead, she leaned in and kissed him.

He responded eagerly. She hadn't made love to him last night, expressing trepidation at having sex in her parents' room. All her misgivings seemed to have vanished today. She needed him. He needed her as well.

He untucked her t-shirt from her jeans and pulled it over her head, barely breaking their kiss even as he disrobed her. Her fingers made swift work of the buttons of his shirt as he unfastened and removed her bra.

The sight of her pale skin, the pink of her nipples contrasting against it so sharply, was still enough to make his mouth go dry. He had a feeling it always would. If her scent was any indication, she was equally aroused by him. They both stood to shuck their trousers and - in Willow's case – underwear, then they were back on the bed.

His fingers confirmed her readiness and he didn't bother with any further foreplay. He needed her, she needed him, and that was that. Within seconds he was inside her, her cry of pleasure swallowed up in his eager kiss.

He didn't fully understand why they were both so intense and primitive with each other this time, but they were. It hadn't been quite like this since their first time. Maybe being here in Sunnydale made them both insecure, both desperate. Whatever the reason, he pounded into her with a force that had her crying out in a mixture of pain and ecstasy, and she clung to him as if she never wanted him to stop. She met each thrust, her nails digging into his back. It wasn't long before they both screamed in release.

Afterwards, he lay beside her, gazing at her face as she fell asleep.

He loved her.

It wasn't a new revelation, but he wasn't sure he'd realized how very _much_ he loved Willow until now.

He got up and pulled on his trousers and shirt. He needed blood. Placing a kiss on Willow's forehead, he left the room silently and headed for the kitchen.

Downstairs, Spike was barely awake on the sofa, grumbling sleepily about loud sires shagging and keeping human hours, then closing his eyes again. Angel wasn't at all surprised to find that Cordelia was nowhere to be seen. He listened for her heartbeat but it wasn't there. He assumed she'd gone for a walk. He'd worry if she wasn't back soon, but not now.

He strode into the kitchen, got a bag of the blood he'd brought with him out of the fridge, and dumped it into a mug. Her microwave was a slightly different model than what he was used to, but he soon figured it out and shortly thereafter, he had a mug of warm blood in his hand. Sitting down, he quickly drank it.

Willow had called him cold and that nagged at him. Strangely though, it wasn't the idea of _being_ cold that worried him, but of Willow seeing him that way. Only yesterday, he'd pondered his own bent away from a multitude of warm attachments, his natural reticence and diffidence. It didn't bother him. But did Willow understand that about him? Would it make her come to despise him? She was, after all, a girl whose heart warmed to nearly everyone, a girl to whom a stranger was a friend you hadn't met yet.

His reverie was interrupted by footsteps entering the kitchen. Spike hadn't fallen asleep after all.

"Peaches," he said before heading for the fridge and getting a bag of blood for himself. "Would have thought you'd be upstairs sleeping. From what I could hear, you and Red just had quite a time. Managed to embarrass the silly cheerleader. She dashed out like hell was on her tail. I'm guessing she's never had as good a seeing-to." He'd filled a mug of his own and heated it while prattling on and was soon seated at the kitchen table across from Angel.

Angel wasn't inclined to banter, so he refrained from commenting. Spike hadn't insulted Willow or him, really, so no lines had been crossed.

Spike had no taste for quiet, so he kept on talking, but Angel only began attending to what was spoken when something Spike said was acute. "Guess you really _are_ over the Slayer, aren't you?"

"What?" Having not been paying attention, Angel wasn't sure in what context this observation had been made.

"It was pretty obvious. Hell, if I didn't know better, I wouldn't think you'd ever fancied the silly chit at all."

"It's not that simple. I… I don't know her, Spike. I'm starting to wonder if I ever did."

"What brought this on?"

He stared, not sure if he wanted to open himself up this much. But it was too late now, or it seemed that way. "The Initiative. The girl I loved would never be with someone who could do what they do."

Well, that shut Spike up. He looked utterly dumbfounded. Angel's next words might kill him. He said them anyway. "I'm sorry about what they did to you."

"Yeah, thanks for that, mate." Spike sat silent for a moment, taking in everything, no doubt. Then he got up and took his mug to the sink. "This bonding thing? It was nice and all, but you know it doesn't mean anything, right? I still hate you."

"Me, too, Spike. Me, too."

Tbc…


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and company finally meet Riley.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Three)

 

 

The trip to Willie's had been a bust. No one there seemed to have any information, or if they did, even Angelus didn't scare them enough to divulge it. But they still had to meet with the others and let them know at least that much. So here they were – Giles's flat. Was it Angel's imagination or did Giles hesitate before inviting him in? He supposed he couldn't really blame the man. He well remembered the night he'd left Jenny's corpse here, laid out in grotesque mockery on Giles's bed.

It was an uncomfortable gathering, but Angel hadn't expected anything else. Willow, on the other hand, seemed pained by the awkwardness that hung in the air. It saddened him, all the more so because he couldn't put his arm around her and support her through this.

That wasn't quite true. If Buffy could be presumed upon to act like an adult and see reason, Angel and Willow would be free to behave like the couple they actually were and not be forced into this ridiculous charade. But no, despite being the longest-lived Slayer in history, Buffy still acted like the shallow young girl she was the day before she became The Chosen One.

He looked over at Spike, who was hiding a smirk as he focused his attention on Cordelia, who couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Xander. Wonderful. Only Xander Harris could be so dense as not to notice her obvious lingering interest in him. But he didn't seem to have a clue.

Spike could play audience for this paltry human drama. Angel had bigger things to worry about. Any minute now, Buffy's new beefcake would be walking in the door, camouflage-clad sadist that he was, and Angel would be called upon to protect Spike and himself from the man. He might also have to protect Willow.

Willow and Giles headed for kitchen on some pretext so paper thin he couldn't believe no one looked askance. Obviously, they were going to talk about something connected to her being Angel's lover now.

It was strange. Back when he'd been with Buffy, the word girlfriend seemed a natural way to describe her. The word was utterly ill-suited to Willow. She was his lover, his mate, his _love_… but girlfriend? It seemed a small, silly word to describe her.

He listened carefully, trying to pick up on what was being said in the kitchen.

"Are you happy, Willow? Truly happy?" Giles's voice sounded slightly wistful to Angel's ears.

"Yeah, I am. I mean, I miss you guys so much and Los Angeles streets still confuse the heck out of me, but…I'm…happy. Really, really, incredibly happy. I never knew I could be as happy as I am with Angel."

Angel's heart almost beat as he listened to her. The fact that she felt the same way he did, and that he could confirm that with what she was telling a third party…

The _bonhomie_ soon ended, however.

"Is there some good reason why you didn't let me know about what's been going on? Why Cordelia had to have visions for me to learn that things aren't really hunky dory?" Willow sounded more than slightly upset with her former mentor and Angel could well understand that. He would have liked to listen to the rest of the conversation and hear Giles's answer, but…

"Angel." Buffy's voice brought him back to the living room. His ex-girlfriend. She was right in front of him, that pained and wistful look on her face yet again. Months ago, it would have moved him. Today, it cost her more of what little respect he still felt for her.

That wasn't just because he loved Willow either. He knew, deep down, that even without his new lover, his feelings for Buffy had been changing. And knowing just what she was capable of, _who_ she was capable of giving herself to, would have brought him as close to regretting he'd ever loved her at all as he was now. He'd meant what he told Spike: she wasn't the girl he'd thought her to be.

"So, how have you been?" she asked. He was grateful for her fondness for long, dramatic pauses, or he'd have been caught out.

"Fine." Not actually wanting to have a conversation with her, he thought it best to keep his answers short.

"How is it working with Willow?" The question surprised him. Maybe she was hoping he'd indicate that Willow being around brought back memories of the two of them. Well, she could wish all she liked for all the good it would do her.

"Great, actually. She's a whiz. She's got us completely computerized in a way that we can all cope with and her magic comes in very handy." What a relief to be able to tell the unvarnished truth. Willow really _was_ an asset to Angel Investigations.

"She's that good with the hocus pocus, huh?" Buffy's skepticism might have more to do with irritation at not getting what she was hoping for than with actual contempt for Willow, but it rankled.

He decided to play it cool, though. The last thing they needed right now was rancor between the factions. "Yeah, she is. She gets stronger every day. "

"That's great." Forced smile, pain-filled eyes. It was patent, predictable, and damnably annoying. He wondered what she would say if she knew that her behaviour was making their love a memory he could scarcely comprehend as having ever been real. It was painful, that. Regrets were already too numerous in his life. One more was a weight he didn't need to carry. He watched the rosy glow of nostalgia fade and he mourned.

"It is. She's a real asset. I don't know what we'd do without her."

"That's our Willow." She paused for emphasis. "We miss her." She was sincere about that, though he wanted not to believe it. It would be so much easier to deal with her at this moment if he could think her completely devoid of any finer qualities. But no, he had to accept that, for all he now regretted and all he now despised, Buffy was not utterly contemptible. He might not love her, or even _like_ her anymore, but he couldn't hate her.

Grey areas…not his favorite thing, even if he himself was the very personification of a grey area.

He caught Spike's gaze out of the corner of his eye. Wonderful. So now _he_ was the entertainment. Spike was at least disguising his smirk, if there even was one, better now. That was a blessing.

Giles and Willow came back into the room, and he was carrying a tray with a pot of tea and some crackers and potato chips in bowls perched precariously on it. Willow carried a tray of cups, presumably for the tea.

"Refreshments," she chirped happily, bringing off a fake smile far better than Buffy had managed. Should he be worried at his lover's greater facility at prevarication? If he should be, he wasn't. He was proud, really, the demon within him glorying in Willow's superiority. He couldn't help it. He wasn't human and he was tired of trying to force himself to react and feel like one.

"And yet one more reason why we need you back here with us," Xander chimed in.

He'd be irritated but for the fact that the boy's remark added a touch of realism to Willow's grin. "Thanks, Xan. I miss you, too." She put down her tray and gave her friend a quick hug.

"Buffy, is Riley going to be here soon? Because if not, I don't see why we have to be here." Anya was peevish and Angel found himself enjoying the evening at last. After the fruitless trip to Willie's and the depressing conversation with his ex, it was nice to finally be able to smile.

"An," Xander whined. He got the impression the boy did that a great deal. How desperate could Harris actually be that he stayed with such a creature? Foolish question. It was Xander Harris. Just how many women could he possibly have a chance with? Then he looked at his seer, crossing and uncrossing her legs in a none too subtle effort to draw attention to them - though with a skirt as short as the one she was wearing, it was amazing she felt she had to work so hard. No, he was reminded, Harris wasn't actually as hard-up as reason and logic decreed he should be.

As if Anya still had some vestiges of her demonic power, there was a knock at the door and the sudden stiffening of Spike's spine told him the commando had arrived. Angel shot Willow a look and she moved to his side, as did Spike. Even Cordelia picked up on his signal and got up, moving to join her cohorts in their corner. Angel wanted there to be no doubt that they were a team, and furthermore, that all its members were under his protection.

The door opened and Riley walked in. Angel almost fell over. The man looked impossibly corn-fed and wholesome. A few seconds appraisal, however, gave him pause. There was something…off. His scent was wrong. He would talk to Spike about it later, but Angel's nose never lied. The man was human, yes, but there was something more, something chemically unbalanced.

Now was not the time to bring the subject up, that was certain. He locked eyes with the new arrival – two leaders sizing each other up, scanning for weaknesses…and strengths.

"What's going on, Buffy?" Riley turned to his girlfriend before fixing his eyes once more on Angel and his crew.

"We're here to help you with your little Frankenstein problem," Angel said.

"I don't remember authorizing you to share this with civilians." Riley glared at Buffy. This one was all soldier, all the time. Remembering what Buffy was like in the bedroom, Angel found it hard to believe she'd changed so much on _that_ level, too. Or hadn't they gotten there yet?

"She didn't tell us."

"I had a vision," Cordelia piped up. She got points for bravery, if not for smarts.

"Really now?" Riley sounded utterly contemptuous as he looked her over. "Well, no matter what your so-called 'vision' was, I never asked for any help."

"Yeah, well the Powers That Be seem to think you need it anyway," Cordelia snapped, taking an instant dislike to Buffy's new beau.

Angel expected a snide retort from Riley, but he seemed to be distracted by something – a certain bleached-blond something standing beside Angel.

"Hostile 17," he breathed. "Giles, why is there an HST in your house?" He turned back towards the Watcher.

"His name is Spike, actually, and…"

"And he's not the only vampire in this room," Angel interposed, allowing the faintest shadow of his true face to flicker for just a moment. "By the way, we have names. It's more polite to use them than the numbers you Initiative types seem compelled to tag us with."

"Angel," Buffy said softly. "It's not his fault."

She had a point and Angel actually saw it. He allowed himself to calm. Willow put her hand on his arm in a gesture of support.

Riley, however, wasn't at all calm and the tension was palpable in the tightness of his arms and the stiffness of his bearing. "None of which answers the basic question of just what the hell a Slayer and her Watcher are doing consorting with hostiles."

Willow stared, the anger building in her in a way he could feel as she stood beside him. Spike seemed none too comfortable either and it was difficult for Angel to maintain his composure while flanked by two people rapidly losing their cool.

Not surprisingly, Willow was the one to break first. "Hey! You're not a commander _here_, buster. So don't think you can barge in here and tell people who've been fighting evil and _winning_ since the tenth grade how to do our jobs." She marched up to Riley and stuck her finger in his chest. She was adorable when she was angry, but Angel mentally readied himself to fight and kill if need be. "I'll bet I knew more about demons when I was fifteen than you know now. And if there's one thing I definitely know, it's that seeing all demons as bad guys is as idiotic and narrow-minded as it gets."

"Go, Willow," Xander breathed softly, his eyes wide with awe, though Angel was pretty sure he was more impressed with the _fact_ of her having just faced down the commando than with the substance of her tirade. Riley, too, was speechless, stunned that a girl he'd obviously pigeonholed as Buffy's bookworm ex-sidekick had such a courageous and forceful side.

Surprisingly, Buffy, too, was gazing at her friend with admiration. She looked fond and proud and just a bit sad, as if she'd missed out on something important before. It took a measure of the weight off of Angel's burden of regret, this vision of the good heart Buffy still had inside.

Of course, none of this could last. Time to get back to business. "Willow's right," Buffy acknowledged crisply. "You can't make hard and fast rules. The game changes all the time and you have to go with it. That math you learned? Humans=good and Demons=evil? Not actually the way things add up all the time."

"Yeah, I mean, the Mayor started out as a human, and look what happened with him," Xander said.

"Quite," Giles concurred.

Riley seemed utterly deflated and Angel watched with no small amount of satisfaction as he sank down on the couch. Nevertheless, he was going to have a serious talk with Willow later. She needed to be far more careful and let _him_ take the lead in situations like this.

After a few moments of strained silence, Riley spoke again. "You're Angel? The guy Willow went to work for? The detective?"

Angel wasn't actually surprised that Buffy had told him that much. Having once been Buffy's boyfriend, he knew she was prone to talking about her friends. Nonetheless, he was going to proceed cautiously. He'd answer questions, but he wasn't going to volunteer anything. "Yes, I am."

"And you're a vampire?"

"Yes."

"You knew he was a vampire?" Riley addressed Willow.

"Yes," they both answered, but a look from Angel let her know that he was doing the talking now.

"So why…?"

"I've known her since Buffy first came to Sunnydale. We're friends. We've been fighting side by side for years. She knows she can trust me."

"You fight evil?" Riley snorted. "But you're a vampire."

"Like I said," Buffy chimed in. "There are no hard and fast rules. It's amazing what the good guys are wearing this season." She graced Angel with a half-smile and he returned it, hoping Willow didn't misconstrue the gesture.

"And Hostile 17 – Spike – he's one of the good guys, too?"

"Hey now!" Spike objected. His childe was about to launch into a tirade of his own, but matching glares from Willow and Angel stopped him. Good. "I prefer to think of myself as a soldier of fortune. Right now, the good guys are paying me." Angel stifled a chuckle.

"I…I've never heard of anything like this."

"Yeah, well, you're not a Slayer."

"Or a seer." Cordelia was heard from again. No one paid any attention.

"You said you've known Buffy since she came to Sunnydale."

Buffy shot him a look, but it wasn't needed. He wasn't any more inclined than she was to share their past with her new boyfriend. "I was sent here to help her, yeah."

"Oh." Riley didn't seem to know what else to say.

Buffy sat beside him. "I know this is a lot for you to take in. Especially now. But everyone in this room can be trusted. And you _will_ need all of us to defeat Adam."

"I…"Riley was gazing at Buffy so helplessly that even Angel was moved for a moment. He supposed he could spare some compassion for someone whose whole world had just been turned upside down, though recalling the chip in Spike's head and the troubling scent the man gave off made him ratchet back that compassion a few notches.

"Yes, well, not all of us are demons, you know. There are plenty of plain, ordinary humans here. Like me." Anya was, as ever, both pointless and annoying. At least she hadn't mentioned sex. Yet.

"An, I think he knows that." Xander actually sounded exasperated. Was the bloom off the rose? Or were Cordelia's legs having more of an effect than Angel had previously believed? "Cordelia, maybe you should tell him about the vision."

"Okay." Cordelia seemed as surprised as anyone by Xander's request, but she complied. "I didn't get a whole lot that was clear, because _somebody_ rudely distracted me." She glared at Spike, who whistled in an exaggeratedly nonchalant fashion for a few seconds. "But I remember seeing a whole bunch of demons just sitting around this lab."

"Wait a minute," Riley interrupted. "There were a group of hostiles all in the same room at the same time? That never happens."

"Well it does now, or it will, because that's what I saw."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, are _you_ the one getting visions from the Powers That Be? No, I don't think so. I am, and I know what I saw."

Riley looked confused again by Cordelia's mention of the PTB, and Buffy put her hand on his knee. Somewhere, wherever it was that he came from, there was a little white church with a pew in it where Riley's family sat every Sunday. Angel would bet money on that in spite of that off-kilter aspect of Riley's humanity. This all had to be overwhelming for the man. That was no bad thing, however. He needed to learn that he'd been messing with forces whose true nature he couldn't begin to comprehend and that it was time for him and his fellow toy soldiers to leave demons and evil to those who understood them.

"Do you think it has something to do with Adam?" Buffy asked, obviously for Riley's benefit.

"Duh," Cordelia answered, a stranger to diplomacy, as ever.

"Cor," Xander chided gently. Much to Angel's astonishment, Cordelia coloured and looked regretful. She had a bad case of it, that was for sure.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. I just remembered something. I thought it was a demon at first, but when I was looking through Willow's boring college stuff, there was a picture of a blonde woman and she looked a lot like this weird creature I saw in part of the vision…only, she was kind of Frankenstein-looking in the vision and not so much in the picture, well, except for the fact that she badly needed a facial. I think it was that Professor Walsh…but isn't she supposed to be dead? If she is, she looks like she died a lot earlier than yesterday. That hair was so 1987."

Way to keep your priorities straight, Cordelia.

Riley seemed more worn down than ever. Cordelia bringing up Professor Walsh seemed to have saddened him. Angel's sympathy for the man's grief was non-existent and his regard now diminished once more. Walsh was a sadist and a monster - a cruel, power-hungry child playing with fire and fancying herself too clever to get burned. Angel was more than happy to leave her ashes on the ground beneath his boots. The thought that she might not actually be completely deceased was not the least bit cheering.

"I need to get back. They'll expect…I have things I have to do." Angel got the feeling Riley would have said more had there not been strangers in the room, but he didn't figure it was anything beyond their powers to reason out once the commando was gone.

"Want me to head back with you?" Buffy asked.

"No. It's better if I go alone. Besides, I have some thinking to do." He nodded at the others in the room, probably a sop to the manners he was raised with, and then he departed. Buffy gazed after him even as the door closed behind him, and she frowned worriedly.

"I hope he's okay," she said softly.

"More to the point, I'm hoping he doesn't go running back to his G.I. Joe buddies and tell them all about the fact that he knows where to find Hostile 17 and some of his shiny new demonic pals." From the mouth of Xander Harris…who would have thought?

"Riley wouldn't do that." Buffy seemed adamant, but it was obvious her conviction was shared by no one else in the room.

"No offense, Buff, but where Riley and his pals are concerned, you are batting zero. Up until Walsh tried to kill you, you thought she and her little project were peachy keen. And now you're telling us that Willow and Cordelia and the blood brothers over there are perfectly safe because good ole Riley would never spill the beans. I think I'm gonna go with skepticism right now. It's workin' for me." Again, Angel was shocked by Xander's attitude and his willingness to defy Buffy. There was something going on behind that. He almost cared enough to try and find out what it was.

"Xander, I'm sure Buffy's right about Riley. I mean, he's her boyfriend and I'm sure she knows him better than we do." Willow smiled at Xander even as she spoke, though, and Angel could tell she was touched by his concern. It was possible he despised the boy somewhat less than before. After all, he _was_ concerned about Willow's safety…

And Cordelia's.

Complications – they were not something he needed to have to deal with right now. So he wouldn't. Let his wayward seer and her no-longer-teenaged swain work this out on their own.

"Yes, well, whether Riley divulges Spike and Angel's presence in town or not, I would suggest that they both keep a very low profile. In light of recent events, I will assume that the 'military presence', as it were, will be greater than usual and that they will consider themselves on high alert."

"Yeah, you're right." He could almost feel the panic radiating from Willow as she spoke. It was agonizing not to be able to hold her right now.

"So, let's get the facts straight as we know them, okay?" Buffy was in take charge mode and she avoided looking at Xander. "First: Professor Walsh was killed by a scary, evil creature she was building out of demon parts. Second: We know the creature's name is Adam and that he's on the loose somewhere in Sunnydale. Third…" Her voice trailed off.

"You have crappy taste in men?" Cordelia couldn't resist a chance to snipe at Buffy. "What?" she said when confronted by several annoyed looks. "It's not like any of the rest of us think Riley's a catch."

She had a point there, though Angel could see Anya trying to find a way to disagree. Not that he was paying much attention. No, what really concerned him was how little they knew. It made him realize just how important Willow had been to the Sunnydale crew. Had they kept her in the loop, they would undoubtedly know a great deal more.

"Once we get back to the house, I'll see how my password program is working and if I can get into the Initiative files yet, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan, Will," Xander answered. "No one works the computer mojo like my best bud." He walked over and hugged her. It was hard to let that happen. Angel couldn't help but envy the fact that the boy could touch her at a time when he couldn't.

"Well, as delightful as all this togetherness is, I say that Red and Peaches and the cheerleader and I head back to _chez_ catalogue and see if she can whip up that computer mojo right away. Seems pretty pointless to make any plans until we actually know anything. And since Buffy and the bimbo have both proven to be no help there…" Spike's voice trailed off as he waited for a reaction that didn't come.

Angel stifled his merriment at Spike's frustration, but he was pleased to see that even Buffy was taking this very seriously. No quips or pop culture references tripped off her tongue. Instead, her brow was furrowed in thought. Giles was already heading for a stack of books, and Xander seemed poised to help him.

"We'll head back to Willow's house then. If she finds anything, we'll call. From now on, I want to meet there. It's well-situated, it's easy to see if anyone's coming, and there are plenty of exits in case we need to escape. No offense, but here we'd be trapped like rats if anyone decided to attack. I brought a cache of weapons which, along with what you have, should be sufficient to arm us if needed and you might want to bring those when we meet next. In the meantime, keep researching any demons you recognized as being part of Adam. We'll tackle the computer research and I'll get Wesley to help out at his end."

He barely gave Willow a chance to get out a cheery "goodbye, guys" before he had his crew out the door and in the car. He wanted to get back to the house. There were things that needed to be done to make it safer and he also needed to discuss the matter of Riley's abnormal scent with Spike and Willow. Cordelia could do as she pleased so long as it didn't involve Xander Harris and didn't create any impediments to the rest of them efficiently getting down to business. They had a monster to defeat and Angel was more convinced than ever that it was his crew who would make that happen.

Tbc…


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Faith switches bodies with Buffy, the gang gets distracted from the fight against Adam.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Four)

 

If there was anything they didn't need, it was a distraction. That was too bad, because a distraction was what they were certainly dealing with right now.

Faith, disconcertingly inhabiting Buffy's body, was confined to a chair, ropes fastened securely around her by two vampires who knew a thing or two about restraints.

Funny that seeing 'Buffy' like this didn't make Angel think about their past. What it did make him feel was a certain degree of compassion for his old girlfriend. Faith had taken her body and used it to do god knows what while she was helpless and unaware. Angel knew better than anyone what that was like.

"So how'd you figure it out, Fang Boy?" Faith asked, glaring at Spike with Buffy's eyes. "Didn't think you knew Buffy that well."

"I don't. But I know her well enough to know she'd never proposition me." Spike shuddered and Angel stifled a chuckle. No, he was with Spike on that one. And telling him she'd make him pop like warm champagne? Not a Buffy turn of phrase. Of course, the fact that Cordelia had been given a vision didn't hurt either, though he doubted Spike would ever give the seer any credit for his quick realization that it wasn't actually Buffy trying to cop a feel at the Bronze.

He wondered at Faith. She was cleverer than that, or so he'd thought. If she really wanted to get away with this, to take over Buffy's identity, why did she act so much like herself on Buffy's home turf? It made no sense.

He looked at his watch; Willow and Giles should have been back by now. The goons from the Council had better not have laid a finger on the woman he loved or he'd burn the whole headquarters to the ground with the lot of them inside.

"What's the matter? You worried about Buffy's Watcher and her little shadow? Scared your true love won't gaze at you with those lovesick hazel eyes anymore if her sidekicks get wasted?" Faith did a rather broad burlesque of Buffy's expression as she spoke and Angel almost found it funny. He probably _would_ have laughed if he wasn't so concerned about Willow.

It was interesting that she didn't have Buffy's memories at all. Just to satisfy his curiosity, he'd have Wesley research this particular spell.

"What makes you think he's still wasting his time brooding over Buffy?" Cordelia snarked. "Some people get over the losers they used to date, you know."

Angel was puzzled by Cordelia's remarks for a moment, but then he remembered…hadn't Faith slept with Xander? Another thing they didn't need to deal with right now – Cordelia's ridiculous feelings for her old boyfriend.

"What's the matter? Got a thing for Angel? Go for it. I'm pretty sure an uptight priss like you couldn't get him hot enough to lose his soul."

Surprisingly, Cordelia just sniffed and turned away, acting as if she considered Faith beneath her notice. Angel was glad of that. He wasn't interested in childish bickering right now, especially since Faith was using Buffy's voice and it was very disconcerting to hear Faith's words spoken with it.

Faith, however, couldn't seem to go for very long without a sparring partner. She tried again. "So, Angel, this turn you on? Me all tied up and looking like your little soul mate? Wanna take me somewhere private? Or we could do it right here, give the kiddies a good show. I mean, hey, you'd get the best of both worlds this way – your girlfriend's body, but this time with someone who really knows what to do with it." Faith's voice was low and husky and desperate. He wondered why that was. She'd been in a coma, but not knowing time was passing, how bad could eight months abstinence have been?

This had nothing to do with sex, he realized. Faith was jealous of what Buffy had, of how people felt about her, and she had foolishly believed that just looking like Buffy would transfer it all to _her_. He felt a surprising rush of pity. The girl was flailing, frantic, trying hard to prove that the end result of all her envy and spite had been for _something_, something she could 'want, take, have'…hoping like anything not to have to believe that the girl inside was who no one loved.

Even Willow would have compassion for Faith now.

His silence was all the answer he gave to the girl wearing Buffy's body and it obviously hurt her more than any words he could have spoken.

Luckily, at that moment, Willow, Giles, and Xander came bursting through the door …along with Buffy, whose sour expression said everything that need be about how she felt being trapped in Faith's body.

"You know, I think I wear that look better than you do," she cracked as she saw Faith tied to the chair. "Blonde really doesn't suit you."

"May I just say that this whole switcheroo thing is giving me a wiggins? I like you much better in your own body, Buff," Xander said.

Faith's eyes lit up. "Gee, Xander, you didn't mind my body so much that day at the motel. In fact, I seem to remember that you liked it a lot."

"Yeah, like bagging a brokenhearted guy on the rebound was such a feat," Cordelia shot back.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve there? Just because you don't have what it takes to make your man happy…"

"Hey, she does just fine with the happy…I mean, she did…I…" Xander was stumbling over his words while everyone stared at him. Angel figured they were all in agreement on one point: it was a good thing Anya wasn't here.

"Well, if the inappropriate conversation is over, we can get to the part where order is restored." Giles was a welcome voice of reason. Angel hated to see how uncomfortable Buffy obviously was being trapped outside her own body.

It was easy to see that Giles was just as uncomfortable. While Buffy couldn't take her eyes off the usurper, Giles couldn't look at her at all. He had barely glanced at Faith since they entered the room. Faith, on the other hand, kept looking at Giles. It was obvious that his behavior bothered her.

"What's the matter? Can't bear to see me all warm and cozy inside your precious Buffy?"

"You're not Buffy." Willow answered instead, sparing Giles with a hand on his arm and a tilt of her head. "No matter what you look like, you're not Buffy and you'll never be Buffy. That's what kills you, isn't it? The futility. The pointlessness. After all this, you're still Faith." Angel struggled to keep from showing how much he admired his lover right now. Her perception was as acute as if she'd spent all this time here observing Faith and had not just walked in the door. "The package doesn't change what's inside."

"Oooh, great insight there. Thanks." She looked Willow over rather contemptuously while Xander turned a bit green. "I guess if I looked like you I'd tell myself that looks don't count too."

Angel struggled to rein in his demon and find a way to defend his lover, but before he could do that, she spoke up. "Why don't we just get another chair and some more rope? We'll need to restrain Buffy before the body switch, because then she'll be Faith again." Willow was taking the high road. It made Angel love her even more, though he knew the girl's words had hit home. He'd just have to find a way to convince her she was beautiful…as soon as they were alone.

Xander and Spike both went after the required articles. Angel walked over to Willow and whispered, "Are you okay?" She nodded ever so slightly and he went to talk to Buffy.

"I really hate this." Buffy said softly as Angel approached her. "The idea of someone walking around in my body…it's so creepy. And I'm not loving being Faith."

"You're not Faith," he reassured her. "You may look like her, but that doesn't mean you _are_ her."

"Were you the one who figured it out?" she asked, the wistful expression she wore looking more than bizarre on Faith's face.

"No, actually, it was Spike. He knew something had to be wrong when you tried to seduce him."

Buffy looked nauseous. "I will so kill her for that."

"Ready!" Willow caroled as Spike and Xander came back with the necessities. "It's bondage time." Mouths dropped open in shock, at least those of the Sunnydale crew. They really didn't know her very well, Angel realized as his mind wandered to some very pleasant times back in Los Angeles.

"Yes, well…Buffy…come here and sit down, will you?" Giles motioned to the chair and Buffy sat. "We'll need to leave her a bit of arm movement so that she can touch Faith."

"You already know how to fix this?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh yeah. We stopped off at Giles's place to call Wesley and pick up some supplies and we managed to conjure this nifty device which should switch everything back the way it should be." Willow pulled a case out of her pocket and opened it. Whatever was inside was glowing and green. "It's a katra."

Angel was mildly familiar with them from his reading, so he at least didn't have to pretend to have a clue the way everyone else did.

Willow gave the katra to Buffy, who used what little arm movement she was allowed to grab Faith's hand. A brief second later there was a flash of light. "Oh thank God," he heard Buffy exclaim. "Now would one of you guys please untie me?"

"How do we know it's really Buffy?" Spike said. "I say we leave her like this until we've run a battery of tests or something."

"Spike!" Buffy yelped.

Willow, of course, had paid him no mind and was even now trying to undo their very best knots – without much success. "Angel, can you help me with these?"

He waited for her to step aside. Touching her would not help them keep their secret, especially not standing next to Buffy. It was hard right now to keep the love he felt for Willow out of his eyes. She never ceased to amaze and impress him. A slip of a girl and yet here she was – saving the day. If he touched her, even casually…

She moved away and Angel stepped in, making relatively short work of the knots.

"Nice job with the restraints," Buffy said, almost groping herself as she was freed. It was obvious she was glad to be back in her own body.

Willow grabbed her and hugged her. "It's good to see you again…as you, you know?"

"Believe me, I could not agree more. Thank you." She squeezed Willow tightly. "You really _are_ good with the magic stuff."

Willow blushed. "Giles helped. Really. I couldn't have done it without him."

Angel doubted that sincerely and Giles immediately confirmed his belief. "On the contrary. I am quite sure you would have done just as well without me. I must say that I'm…I'm quite impressed." He was looking at her with something like awe and Angel's heart swelled with pride.

"Well, Wesley's been helping me, you know? Doing the mentor thing, making sure I stay on the right path. He knows a lot about magic."

Giles looked rather crestfallen at her words; Angel could well understand why. Had he paid attention, had he seen Willow's potential, it would have been him she was turning to for advice on harnessing the power that dwelt within her. Instead, the role of teacher and guide was being played by Wesley, a man Giles looked down on. Angel could feel sorry for the man, he supposed, but he didn't. Maybe it was coldblooded of him, but hey – vampire. Being coldblooded came with the territory.

"Do I get untied now?" Faith whined, obviously upset at being ignored now that she was back in her own skin.

"Sorry, honey. But on the plus side, I think we've finally found the right look for you. Who knew ropes would suit you so well?" Buffy was bitter, and she had a right to be. Still, the pity he felt was all for Faith at this point. She made a rather pathetic figure. All that sound and fury signifying nothing.

He glanced over at Willow and was surprised to see something like sympathy in her eyes as well. He shouldn't have been surprised at all, actually. Willow was nothing if not forgiving and compassionate.

"What do we do with her now?" Cordelia asked.

"I don't know. I mean, the Council was going to kill Buffy when they thought she was Faith and I just can't see handing the real Faith over to their goon squad now that we know what their intentions are. Besides…they kind of hate us now."

"Why do they hate you?"

"You remember that spell? The one where the little balls of light go zooming back and forth and stuff?" Angel remembered it well. She'd employed it when they weeded out a nest of Parvo demons…not very bright creatures and easily distracted. "Yeah, well, I used it on them and Xander and Giles were able to free Buffy and then throw them off their truck and we kind of stole it and…"

Angel couldn't help himself. He laughed. The Watcher's Council was as pathetic as pathetic could be if that spell was enough to defeat a team they sent in to bring down a rogue Slayer. Willow grinned back and their eyes locked, sharing the memory and the mirth. They caught themselves quickly and the moment ended – hopefully before anyone noticed.

"Aren't you something? And to think, I knew you when all you could do was float a pencil. Can I have your autograph?" Faith quipped.

There was a knock at the door. Angel and Spike immediately assumed a defensive posture, fearing the worst. Buffy, Xander, and Giles did likewise while Cordelia hid behind them. Willow went to answer the door.

"Who is it?" she asked cautiously.

"It's Riley."

She opened the door. "Hey."

"Is Buffy here?" He brushed past her and into the house. Angel could slap him for being so rude.

Willow didn't seem to take it any better. "Gee, Riley, come on in," she snapped, turning to glare at him.

The commando had the decency to look abashed. "Sorry, Willow. This is kind of an emergency."

"So that means you don't owe her a bit of courtesy?" Spike asked as Willow closed the door, protecting the vampires from the sunlight. "What's the matter? All that torturing of innocent demons taking a toll on your manners?"

"Spike," Willow chided gently. "It's okay. Let's hear what he has to say."

Riley, however, seemed to be distracted by the prisoner. "Who's that?" he asked, staring at Faith.

"Long story," Buffy answered. "What's the emergency?"

He seemed confused for a moment. Not a rocket scientist, this one. But he regrouped and said, "A bunch of vampires have taken over a church. There are hostages. We need to get them out."

"Vampires? In a church? During the day?" Faith's skepticism was well-founded, but a bit of a shock. She cared?

"She knows about…?"

"Well if she didn't, you'd have given her a hell of an education, now wouldn't you?" Spike's disdain was matched by Angel's own.

"She used to be a Slayer," Buffy explained.

"_Used_ to be? Excuse me? Untie me and I'll show you who the real Slayer is, you bitch!" Faith struggled to break free from the tight bindings with no success.

"There are two of you? I thought…didn't you tell me that there was only one?"

"Usually that's the way it works, but Buffy died for a minute or two a few years back and another one was called. Then when _she_ was killed, Faith was called." Thank you, Xander. That was impressively succinct.

"Okay…" Riley looked flummoxed, but he wasn't asking any more questions. Which was a good thing, because the man's ignorance was irritating. Now more than ever, Angel wondered why the hell the Initiative was messing around in a world they knew nothing about.

"We'd better weapon up," Buffy said. "Giles, Xander, Willow, you'll come with me. Riley, too, if you're up to it. Are you still injured?"

"I'm fine, Buffy." He sounded irritated at having his weakness mentioned. Too damn bad.

Angel, however, was more irritated at the casual way she appropriated Willow. Willow worked for him now, not Buffy, and he wasn't about to let Buffy forget that. "Here, Willow," he said, reaching into his cache. "Use the crossbow. It's your best weapon."

"Thanks, Angel." She smiled as she took the crossbow from him.

"What about me?" Faith was heard from again and once again managed to stun everyone.

"What _about_ you?" Buffy snorted.

"I'm thinking you could use an extra set of superpowers here. I mean, I know you've got witchiepoo, but the vamps are out thanks to their pesky sunlight problem and I don't seem to remember Xander as being all _that_ handy with a weapon." The boy in question coloured slightly as Faith continued. "Another Slayer would be a pretty good deal right now."

"Sure thing. And if we're ever looking for a girl who's out of shape after being in a coma for eight months and who'll turn tail and run or turn traitor at the first opportunity, we'll give you a call. In the meantime, I think you're kinda tied up."

"Out of shape?" Faith shrieked. "It took both vamps _and_ magic girl over there to take me down _and_ they caught me by surprise. Angel all by himself has kicked your ass. Which one of us is out of shape?"

"Are we forgetting the part where you gave back your good guy secret decoder ring and went to work for the Mayor? So not a sterling reference if you're looking for a job with the white hats." Xander was obviously desirous of getting some of his own back after her pointed and cutting reference to his sexual prowess.

"Let her go." Willow and Angel spoke up at the same time, maybe not the most auspicious move, not that either had known the other had the idea.

"Are you nuts?"

"No, Buffy," Willow took over the conversational reins, "I'm not nuts. Faith has a point. We could use an extra set of muscles. If she runs, oh well, we're no worse off than we would be if she stayed here. And I don't see turning traitor as an option since I'm not too sure the vampires would trust a Slayer."

"You always were the brains of this lot, pet," Spike chimed in rather admiringly.

"I do think Willow has a point," Giles agreed rather tentatively.

Buffy was nearly fuming, but she gave in. "Fine, we'll untie the psycho and let her go on the field trip, but when this all goes horribly wrong and she gets us killed, let's not forget that I told you so, okay?" she grumbled as she undid the ropes.

"Now is that any way to talk about a girl who was you not so long ago, B?" Faith got up from the chair and stretched.

"When this is over, I am going to kick every inch of your ass."

"Bring it on."

The two Slayers began to circle each other, the danger facing those hapless churchgoers forgotten.

"Hey!" Willow yelled. "Can we please remember that we have some lives to go save? And besides, this is my parents' house and if you break it, you pay for it. Grow up. Both of you. Now, c'mon." She grabbed her crossbow and strode to the door for emphasis.

Even Angel was stunned at the vehemence and authority in her voice and manner. He was so proud of her. On the other hand, he didn't want to see her take this attitude into battle. Not without him there to protect her. "Be careful," he said. "I'm not losing the most important person in my agency." He allowed his eyes to say much more. To hell with keeping secrets. When she came back, he was going to figure out a way to let everyone know just what their relationship truly was.

"As touching as this is, can we get out of here? I'm itching to slay." Faith's words seemed to finish what Willow had started. Within moments, and with only minimal discussion, everyone departed – everyone, that is, but Angel, Cordelia, and Spike.

Angel sat down heavily on the couch. It suddenly hit him that Willow was out there with no one he trusted fighting beside her. Not for one second did he think Buffy and her cohorts were going to look out for his lover and he wanted to roar his frustration to the heavens. Never had his vampiric nature made him feel so helpless. But here he was, held captive by sunlight, unable to do a thing but sit and wait and hope that Willow came back to him safe and sound.

Spike caught his mood immediately. "She'll be back. She's damn good at surviving. Hell, I've tried to kill her myself in days gone by and she's always made it out without a scratch on her." His attempt at lighthearted banter was undercut by the concerned undercurrent in the tone of his voice. It didn't make Angel feel any better.

"She's mine, Spike." There was a world of meaning in those few words, something only another demon would understand.

"I know, sire."

If Angel was shocked at Spike's forgoing of his usual sarcastic forms of address in favour of the highest honorific he could employ, he didn't do anything to express it. Instead he slid over slightly and allowed Spike to sit next to him.

"If anything happens…"

"We'll burn down this whole bloody town and bathe in the blood of anyone who lives through it."

"Eww! I mean, I love Willow as much as the next person, but…"

"No, you don't, Cordelia." Angel couldn't believe she had the nerve to compare her feelings to his, even casually.

For once, she was sharp enough to pick up on his tone. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Awkward, painful silence followed. He wanted Cordelia to leave the room. There were things he wanted to discuss with Spike and he didn't need the presence of a human while he did. More pious judgment was not appealing.

"I think I'll go upstairs and check in with Wesley. Maybe he's found out something from his contacts," Cordelia said at long last. Hallelujah.

"Good idea. Thanks." And with that, she headed for the stairs and was gone.

"Well, at least she knows when she's not welcome."

Without Willow's sensibilities to consider, Angel didn't bother to chastise his childe. After all, he was just as glad to be rid of his tactless, graceless seer as Spike was. "I'm going to tell them."

"You're kidding, right? You're going to tell the Slayer that you love Red?"

"Yes."

"That's not the brightest idea you've ever had."

"I'm tired of holding my tongue, of not being able to hold her, of not being able to speak up when I should. She's _mine_, Spike, and I had to stand by and watch Buffy order her around and let her head off to face a bunch of vampires whose purpose I can't begin to guess at. I'm not some human. That's not the way things work."

His companion sat silent, gazing steadily into his eyes. "You really aren't a nancy boy anymore, are you?"

"No."

"Do what you need to do, then." That was as close to an offer of support as he'd ever hear from Spike and it meant a great deal to him.

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about. It's about Riley."

Spike made a gagging noise before replying. "Do we have to talk about that lumbering git?"

"Yeah, we do. There's something wrong with him. Did you notice his scent? He's human, but…"

"But demons aren't the only ones the Initiative lab geeks are experimenting on – is that what you're thinking?"

"Exactly."

"You're right. I picked something up myself, just didn't stop to think about it. Once Red gets into their computer files, maybe she can find out what's what. If Riley's not quite a real boy, I'm thinking we need to know about it."

Tbc…


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow and company return from the battle, but that's not the end of the turmoil.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Five)

 

"All I'm saying is that you guys need to admit that I was right."

Buffy's shrill voice could be heard even before the front door opened and the troops marched in.

"And the reason we're not admitting it might have something to do with the fact that you _weren't_," Willow answered.

Angel couldn't begin to express his relief as he saw his lover walk in.

"She's gone, which means I was right."

"But she didn't leave until _after_ she killed a vamp and helped us save all those people, so no, you were wrong."

Angel scanned the group that entered and noticed that, yes, Faith was missing, just as the conversation implied. He didn't particularly care. What mattered to him was that Willow was alive and safe. How much of a concern was Faith, really, in the grand scheme of things?

Especially since, despite what appearances might indicate, not everyone had escaped the fray entirely unscathed. Spike sensed it, too, and put a restraining hand on his arm. Angel shook it off. He didn't care what anyone thought.

"You're bleeding," he growled.

Willow's eyes shot wide. "Just a scratch. I was busy casting a spell and didn't pay attention and…"

"You let her get hurt," he interrupted, this time addressing the others.

"Angel," Cordelia warned as the faces of most of the Sunnydale gang took on curious expressions.

He fought to keep his face from changing, but his eyes flashed gold and there was nothing he could do – or _wanted_ to do – about that. In all the times she'd fought by his side, she'd never been injured. One battle with a larger crew than his own – one which included _two_ Slayers – and she was bleeding.

"Angel," Buffy said, attempting to mollify him, "It's really not a big deal. It's just a cut on her leg. I mean, okay, her jeans are toast, but…"

He cut her off. "It _is_ a big deal. She goes out fighting with my crew almost every night and she's never been hurt. You know why? Because we have enough sense to protect a witch while she's casting. Don't tell me one of you couldn't have kept an eye on her for thirty seconds. But hey, why bother? It's just Willow, right?"

Willow herself was about to speak up and defend her thoughtless friends when she caught the look in his eyes. He watched as her mouth snapped shut and she looked away uncomfortably. As independent as she was, she was _his_ and she knew better then to defy him at a time like this.

Xander, in an unfortunately observant moment, caught her change of heart. "Will, maybe you ought to tell your boss that you're not hurt or something." He was looking at her with the oddest expression now. On anyone else, Angel would have sworn it was insight.

"I'm fine, Angel. Really." The certainty of her words was belied by her tentative tone. Angel knew she was hopelessly caught between not wanting to defy him and not wanting their secret to be known.

"No thanks to your friends."

Xander's face went through some less-than-subtle changes which did not pass unnoticed by either Spike or Cordelia, both of whom shot Angel more or less clandestine worried glances. Willow quite obviously felt much the same. If Xander had figured it out, however, he seemed to have the sense and discretion to keep quiet. Which made Angel fairly certain he hadn't actually figured anything out at all - which was very much to the good.

As much as Angel wanted to tell everyone the truth, he didn't think that now was the best possible moment. Riley was looking at Willow in a way that made both Angel and Spike extremely displeased. Spike was the one who spoke up first. "If you even think of taking her back to your lab for those experiments you chaps are so fond of, I will kill you, chip or no. And it will be agonizing in ways you can't begin to imagine."

Riley was nonplussed. "Willow's my friend. I would never do that to her."

"Oh well, I'm completely reassured. How about the rest of you?"

"Can we not have any pointless bickering, please?" Giles interjected, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You think standing up for Red is pointless?"

"Spike." Angel's voiced carried enough of a warning to stop his childe short. Not that he didn't agree with him, but he saw nothing to be gained by antagonizing the closest ally they had. They'd need Giles to be in sympathy with their side when Angel and Willow's relationship became known.

He looked at Willow, pale and tense as she stood there, caught between her old life and her new one. Time to steer the conversation back to business. "So, I take it the vampires were defeated. Any idea why they decided to attack a church while the sun was out?"

"Adam," Buffy answered.

"Yeah, he seems to be a sort of demonic Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He got the vamps to believe that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself," Willow chimed in, her voice near giddy with relief at the turn the meeting had now taken.

"Looks like Adam was the Initiative's best idea yet." Spike, too, was gleeful, though in his case at having a new opportunity to jape Riley.

"Did you find out anything else?"

"Other than the fact that he seems to be running for Mayor now? No, not really. We sort of had to kill them all. Adam really had them fired up." Willow replied.

"Well, that's still more than we knew before, actually. This at least tells us what he's capable of and that he's not interested in laying low or leaving town." Angel really did feel a bit better informed, and, oddly enough, more confident. He knew from his own grand follies when his soul was lost that a demon on a power trip was a far easier target. Had Angelus been cunning instead of conceited…he shuddered to think of what might have been.

"Yes. I must agree that, alarming as this new knowledge is, it is, at least, _knowledge_." Giles had a disconcerting ability to see the glass as both half full _and_ half empty at the same time.

Xander was oddly quiet, seeming lost in what passed for thought. But if Angel thought Cordelia could give him any clues as to what the boy's mood meant, he was sorely in error. She seemed just as lost as he was. Not for the first time, he wondered if Doyle gave her the gift just to ensure her continued employment. He'd grown accustomed to her, but she wasn't much use without those visions.

"I better go up and see if there's any progress with my computer program," Willow said.

"Since Captain Cardboard doesn't seem to have a password, or if he does, he's not sharing."

"I don't have it. Believe me, I'd tell you if I did. This wasn't a program I was in on. I wish I had been. I'd have tried to stop it." Riley was rising above and trying to ignore the snide elements in Spike's remarks. Which was good, because it would inspire Spike to ever greater heights of derision.

Angel could confess to enjoying seeing the corn-fed, shucks-ma'am sadist getting at least a miniscule taste of what he deserved. Despite the elements of understanding he felt for the man, when all was said and done, they were mortal enemies turned temporary allies. At the end of this, the soldier would either undo what had been done to Spike or pay dearly.

Willow bounded up the stairs. Angel hoped she'd find the password waiting for her. He was more than anxious to get this all over with. It was more awkward and uncomfortable than ever being around the people who made up Buffy's world. Maybe it was because he was no longer interested in playing the part of marginalized vampire sidekick any longer. He'd come out of the shadows and he was no one's lap-dog or faithful adjutant any longer. He was the leader he was meant to be and in Sunnydale that would always put him at odds with the Slayer he once loved.

She was as uncomfortable with the new Angel as he was with the same old Buffy, he could tell. Her eyes were guarded. If he was glad that the yearning was gone, he was also concerned about what might result from her new and suspicious attitude towards him. She was sizing him up as if he were a stranger. He was, but was it a timely moment for her to have that particular epiphany?

"No luck yet," Willow groused as she came back into the room. "Your guys are pretty good," she grudgingly admitted to Riley.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"You'll get it," Angel reassured her.

"I'd better head back to base and check in." Riley seemed anxious to get out of there. Angel only hoped betrayal wasn't on his agenda. He thought not, but he wasn't about to count on the integrity of a man so easily turned into the dupe of an organization as insidious as the Initiative.

"I'll walk with you," Buffy said, seemingly as eager to leave as her boyfriend was. She put her arm through his and kissed his cheek. Was she putting on a show still? And if so, for whose benefit was it?

Giles was the next to speak up. Just as Buffy and Riley were out the door, he said, "Xander, perhaps we should go. I'm sure there's nothing further we can do here at present."

Much to everyone's surprise, Xander seemed to have an entirely different idea. "I think I'll stay here for awhile. Catch up with Wills. I'll come by later to help you look through a bunch of books that won't have any information about government-built cyborgs."

Giles was taken aback, but seemed inclined to let the matter drop. He appeared to finally be processing just how much things had changed – things that didn't necessarily have anything to do with Willow. Walsh's death didn't make Buffy back into the girl who used to look up to him or knit the group back into the tight and comforting unit they had once been and it was hitting him hard. Angel should pity him, and he did, but it was in a detached sort of way that brought home the fact that he really wasn't the creature he used to be.

Besides, he had himself to feel sorry for. He was going to have to endure the company of Xander Harris with barely a leaven in the lump.

Giles soon followed his Slayer's lead and left, the Citroen making its slow and vaguely ridiculous way down the drive and into the street. When was Giles going to break down and buy a respectable car?

That thought soon faded into nothingness however, because no sooner was Giles safely away, then Xander rounded on Angel and Willow. "So, this thing going on with the two of you…new?"

The boy _had_ tumbled to the truth. Would wonders never cease?

"W-what do you mean, Xander?" Willow stuttered.

"Oh, c'mon. Just because I'm not Joe College, it doesn't make me an idiot, okay?" Angel might argue with whether or not he was an idiot - because one lucky guess did not a genius make - but he got Xander's point. "And I'm pretty sure everyone but Buffy has figured out that Angel is more than just your boss."

There really wasn't any point in keeping up the charade any longer. "Willow is mine."

"Yeah, well, as long as that doesn't mean what it sounds like."

"His soul's safe with her, so yeah, it means what it sounds like," Spike interposed. He obviously couldn't resist the opportunity to take part in the unfolding drama.

Willow appeared crestfallen. It was obvious she had wanted to tell Xander in her own way and both vampires had robbed her of the chance. He would apologize later when they were alone.

Xander sat down on the couch and Willow sat next to him. "Are you mad?" she asked.

"No…I mean…yes. It's Deadboy, for god's sake. What is it with that guy? Is necrophilia the hot new thing?"

"I love him, Xander." She was ignoring the insults and Angel supposed that meant he had to as well. He did not, however, have to be pleased about it.

"How long?" Xander asked. "I mean, did it start after you moved to L.A.?" Angel got the uncomfortable feeling that he might have to ratchet up his assessment of the boy's intelligence a notch or so…it was obvious he was on to them.

"No," Angel answered just as Willow was admitting the same thing.

"I knew it!" Xander leapt up angrily. "I knew your Aunt Esther was dead! All that was just a cover so you could sneak off to meet your undead boyfriend, wasn't it?"

"Uh huh," Willow admitted, tears in her eyes, her voice almost inaudible.

"How…when…?" Xander spluttered.

"I went to Los Angeles looking for Oz and…things just happened." She looked embarrassed and it was upsetting. Their relationship was nothing to be ashamed of.

"She needed someone, someone who actually gave a damn about her pain. We talked, I was her friend, and it became more. End of story, not that it's really any of your business."

"Not any of my business? Willow is _my_ best friend!"

"Oh really?" Spike countered. "Then where were _you_ when she was in pain? Oh yeah…you were shagging your demon and whining about how annoying it was that Willow was still hurting."

Xander appeared ready to defend himself, but when his mouth opened, no sound came out and he shut it again without speaking. Instead he sat back down on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"I still can't believe you let _Spike_, of all people, trick you into thinking her Aunt Esther was alive. Hello? You've known Willow forever. Even _I_ remembered that her aunt died back in fifth grade." Cordelia's heart was in the right place, of that Angel was now convinced.

"I know, okay," Xander shot back. "I'm a bad friend. I admit it. Are we all happy now?"

"You're not a bad friend, Xander," Willow said, putting her hand on his knee.

"Yes, he is," Spike offered, ignoring the death glare Willow shot him as Angel stifled a chuckle.

"I'm sorry, Wills," Xander said. Then he pulled Willow into a hug.

The two friends held each other for a moment and Angel stood by watching. For Willow's sake, he was glad. She loved Xander and his friendship meant a great deal to her.

The embrace had ended and Xander was staring at him, eyes wiser and stronger than he was used to from the boy. Again he was struck with the notion that he'd underestimated him. "I'm still not a fan, Deadboy, but if Willow loves you, then I'm okay with this. But if you ever hurt her… I'm not going to ever make the same mistakes I made last time. You'll get what you deserve _and_ what I should have done to Oz. Remember that."

Angel nodded. He wasn't concerned, but he had a grudging sort of respect for Xander now. Maybe Willow and Cordelia weren't crazy after all for thinking there was something to him.

"Could you maybe try to call him by his name?" Willow asked her friend. "He has one, you know? It's Angel."

"C'mon. I'm being as adult as I can." They were grinning at each other now. Angel himself allowed a small smile. Anything that made Willow happy was a good thing.

"Repeat after me: An-gel."

"Anything for you. Angel. There, I said it."

Angel watched as Willow hugged him again. Even Cordelia seemed moved by all this. There were tears in her eyes. It was funny how, suddenly, the group he'd used to see in the obliterated library was now recreated here – transformed in some of its components, but still so much like what it had once been.

It was a good thing, then, that Xander was now apprised of all the facts. You never know – he might even have something useful to contribute.

"I guess I better go." Xander got up to leave. He was stopped by Cordelia.

"Mind walking with me to the Espresso Pump? I could use a mocha and I really need to get out of here."

"Sure, but…"

"Seriously, we need to leave _now_. Willow's all emotional, and when she's emotional, she and Angel…it gets noisy, and I so don't need to be here for it."

"Noisy? What do you...? Oh." Xander's face was caught somewhere between confusion and nausea as he got what Cordelia was trying to say. Angel might have been insulted had the revulsion come from anyone else, but as it was, he simply wanted to laugh at the pair of them. "That is so not an image I needed to have."

"You? Try having to answer phones or get any work done while it's going on!"

And with that, Cordelia and Xander bickered their way out the door, barely stopping for Cordy to grab her purse, though Angel wondered why she bothered. He'd bet blood that Xander would pay.

Willow was giggling on the couch. "That is just like how they were when…" She paused and looked stricken. "Oh no. What if…what about Anya? Oh God. Xander could really be in trouble."

Angel wanted to reassure her, but he was just as convinced that there was a great deal of unresolved emotion between those two. And Willow had just reminded him that an ex-vengeance demon could make things very difficult for them all should she become aware that she was now the sort of woman she used to work for. Oh great. Out of the frying pan… Were they ever going to be able to focus on Adam to the exclusion of anything else?

"Might be fun," Spike cheerily opined. "I, for one, would pay money to see two girls fighting over Chubs."

"Too bad you weren't around back in high school. You could have seen it then."

Being reminded of Willow's one-time crush on Xander took the last of the cheer from Angel's mood. The memory of the two of their scents all over each other wasn't a pleasant one now. He supposed it was a good thing he hadn't loved Willow in those days.

"Oh yeah? Oh that's right…you actually had a thing for the whelp back then. No offense, pet, but between him and the wolf, I can't say much for your taste."

"It's gotten a lot better," Willow said, coming to Angel and putting her arms around him. It was a gift she had, the facility for reading his moods, and he was grateful.

Spike, too, seemed to read the tea leaves correctly and passed up the opportunity to insult his sire, instead asking, "Do you think he'll go running to the Slayer with the news?"

It surprised Willow when Angel beat her to the punch by answering, "No."

"He's right. Xander wouldn't do that to me."

"If you say so." Spike was skeptical, not that Angel didn't understand. He might have been too if he hadn't shared that look with the boy, hadn't seen something stalwart and honourable behind his eyes.

He realized now that the dynamics of the groups were changing again and he wondered how that would play out in the fight against Adam…and when was that going to happen, anyway? Cordelia's _second_ vision had been resolved before her first and it seemed as if they were nowhere near to finishing what they'd come here to do. This was new and Angel wasn't sure he was comfortable with that. It was disquieting to realize he was the pawn of the PTB. Redemption might be worth it, but only just barely.

Shaking himself free of the vines of his depressing thoughts, he asked, "Do we know what happened to Faith? Besides the fact that she's gone?"

"I'm a bit curious about that myself. Not that she wasn't a looker, but she seemed a bit not-right on the sanity scale. Why anyone would fancy changing places with Buffy, of all people…" More melodramatic shuddering from the hammiest of all vampires.

"We don't know. It was all over, we'd gotten everyone out, the vamps were dead, and she was just gone. We figure she left town. After all, the Council's still after her and so are the police. She sure was a lot of help though. I mean, yeah, she has tried to kill me before, so I don't know if we'll ever be pals or anything, but she kicked some real ass. The vamp she killed? It was the one that went after me and knocked me down."

Would wonders never cease? He would never have guessed it was Faith who had come to her rescue. Like Willow, he was now more conflicted in his feelings about Buffy's rogue counterpart. She'd come close to killing him as well, but given the fact that she'd saved Willow… No, he wasn't necessarily sorry she'd made a clean getaway.

"I need to wash up and change clothes," Willow said, gazing ruefully down at the hole in her jeans exposing the cut on her knee which no longer bled. "These are ruined."

"I'll buy you a new pair."

"Angel, you buy me new clothes all the time. I have plenty more jeans where these came from."

"I'll still buy you a new pair."

She sighed but didn't argue. He was still in the process of accustoming her to being taken care of properly. At least she no longer fought him tooth and nail on the subject, however. That was progress.

She headed upstairs and he followed. The sounds of the television turning on and channels being scanned through at a rapid rate accompanied him until the door to the bedroom shut and he and Willow were alone at last.

He pulled her to him, kissing her fiercely. "I need you," he growled when they finally stopped.

"Angel, what about…?"

"There isn't anything that can't wait." His hands roamed over her body and he kissed her again. It was the best way to win this argument and he knew it. Her moans soon told him he'd carried the day and he began to undress her.

He wasn't lying either – he did need her. He needed to renew their bond, to feel the anchor that was her, to be reminded that, despite the batting about by the PTB, there was one true and certain reality: she was his. She grounded him, kept him connected to what his redemption was about, made him feel in ways that were good. Oh yes, he needed her.

The PTB must have known that as well as he did or she wouldn't be half-naked on the bed with him right now and his soul not even slightly imperiled. They were clever, and sometimes they gave instead of taking and testing.

"Angel," she panted, as his mouth found her nipple and his hands struggled to get those hateful, bloodstained jeans down her legs.

Finally they were down at her ankles and he chuckled as she shook free of them. He stood briefly to shed his own clothes and then rejoined her on the bed. Her panties were easily disposed of as he tore them off. He kissed his way down her body, the salt-sweat taste of her skin an aphrodisiac as he moved down to the juncture of her thighs. As much as he wanted to be inside her, what he wanted more was the power that came from having total mastery of her body, the power to give pleasure in a way that left her at his mercy. He needed to take control.

So that was what he did. His tongue found her center, exploring, teasing, and his hands moved over her thighs. The sound of her moans as they built into cries spurred him on.

A knock at the door, insistent and unceasing, distracted him. Ridged and fanged, he got up from the bed in a fury. Willow grabbed the bedspread and wrapped it tightly around herself as Angel strode angrily to the bedroom door.

"Spike!" he roared as he flung it open, not caring that he was completely naked. "This had better be important."

Tbc…


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia has another vision and the gang gets a big surprise.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Six)

 

Thankfully, it _was_ Spike outside the door.

"What is it, boy?" Angel growled.

A slow appraising slide of eyes over his body followed and for a moment, they were both lost in the past. But those days were gone and neither liked the taste of nostalgia much, so the moment ended.

"I wouldn't have interrupted, but the whelp insisted. Seems Madame Blavatsky had another vision."

This might actually have been a good enough reason for interrupting his tryst with Willow, though only just barely. Perhaps this vision would clarify the topsy-turvy way things had been proceeding since their return to Sunnydale. Angel certainly hoped that was the case.

"Where is she?"

"She and Chubs are still downtown. Apparently she had her latest fit right in the middle of the Espresso Pump."

"I'll go get her," Willow said from the bed behind Angel. "I'll take my parents' car."

"You'll take _your _car. It's not as if we're hiding our relationship anymore."

"Have you forgotten about Buffy? What if she sees me?"

Angel, in all honesty, thought it was high time for Buffy to learn the truth. If Xander could somehow bear up under the weight of revealed reality, surely Buffy – now hanging on a brand new arm – could manage to do the same. While he could see the merits inherent in the case for continued dissemblance, he was tired of catering to Buffy's presumed weaknesses. Wasn't it possible she was a mature adult now? Or at least that she could become one were she to be treated as such?

"You'll take _your_ car." His voice was pure demon and the argument was now officially concluded.

Spike hid a smirk, apparently enjoying seeing someone else capitulate under the weight of Angel's authority.

"You can leave," Angel addressed Spike now and he did as he was told. Angel closed the door and turned back to Willow.

She got up and, throwing off the bedspread, began to dress.

"Are you upset?" he asked, after a few seconds.

"A little bit. I'm not totally okay with the 'being ordered around' thing, you know?"

"I'm a demon," he said, as if it explained everything. Because honestly it did.

"I know. And I know that this doesn't seem wrong to you. But I was raised…well, sort of raised anyway…to be independent and make my own decisions. It's uncomfortable for me, this whole idea of belonging to someone and letting them be in charge."

"I love you."

"I know you do. I love you, too. I guess I thought…I don't know what I thought, because it's not like I ever thought you were anything like Oz…I just…this is hard for me, okay? And I need you to understand that."

The reminder of her faithless milquetoast of an ex-lover was anything but pleasant, but at least he wasn't referenced in a way that implied that Angel was being compared and found wanting. Still…no, he wasn't happy that she'd broached that topic at all.

"You knew what I was from the beginning. I've never pretended to be anything else." _Not with you_, he added to himself.

"I know." She sat down on the bed and motioned for him sit beside her. "And I don't mind, at least not all the time. It's just…sometimes I get a little overwhelmed. This isn't who I've always thought I was and it's hard…" She took his hand and gazed into his eyes, begging him for compassion and forbearance.

He rewarded her with what she sought, putting his arms around her and holding her close. Willow had given him so much; it would be churlish of him not to appreciate the difficult adjustment she had to make in order to have a relationship with him. She'd made an excellent point. Her life had been building her towards independence. Asking her to renounce her personal sovereignty in order to belong to him? That was no insignificant thing.

Soon, however, they both realized that the analysis of their relationship needed to give way to Willow's departure to fetch Cordelia. "I'll take _my_ car," she said in mock annoyance as she left the room, and Angel smiled. He heard the sound of her footsteps as she went downstairs and then headed out the back door and to the garage.

He got up from the bed and retrieved his own clothes from the closet, disdaining the clothes he'd discarded earlier. They were wrinkled now and frankly, Angel did care about his appearance too much to be seen in disheveled attire.

"You decent, Peaches?" The sharply sarcastic voice of Spike broke through what was left of his reverie. This time there was no knock before his childe's entry into the room.

"What do you care, boy? You didn't seem to mind earlier." Angel decided to have a bit of fun. There was no harm in it.

"Been there, done that, and it was nothing to write home about," Spike jibed right back. If there was one thing that could be said for him, he gave as good as he got.

"Funny, I never heard any complaints from you before."

Spike looked away for a second and Angel intuited that he might have taken the teasing a bit far. He knew what it was like to be alone himself, and now might not be the best time for this sort of humour. Willow wasn't the only one who was changing, he realized, as it dawned on him that he was suddenly solicitous of Spike's feelings. How had _that_ come to pass?

"Did Xander tell you anything about the vision?" A jarring segue out of the previous japery, but it served.

"No. He was too busy panicking. I think those two are made for each other. They're both bloody useless if you ask me."

Angel was hardly one to contradict him, though Cordelia _was_ his seer and Xander had come around blessedly easily to the idea of accepting Angel's relationship with Willow. "I doubt Anya will see it that way."

"That chit _needs_ a kick up the arse. Bein' a demon's no excuse for her."

Another point on which he and Spike were in complete accord. Still, a brouhaha over the affections of Xander Harris was hardly conducive to harmony within the ranks as they dealt with Adam. Anya's loyalty to the human race was nonexistent, no matter her current status, and Angel was not in the least convinced that she wouldn't eagerly play the distaff version of Benedict Arnold.

Well, borrowing trouble was foolish, especially considering how much they already had, so he'd worry about Anya when and if need be. For right now, he'd focus on what Cordelia's vision might be.

Spike, naturally, had his own ideas and volunteered them without the slightest prompting. "I'll wager Sybil Leek staged this whole thing," he sneered. "Probably did it all just to fall into the whelp's arms." He began mincing around the room before collapsing in an untidy heap. "Oh, Xander, you big, strong hunk of a man, you." Spike's voice was a giddy falsetto as he leaned dramatically against the bed. "These visions bestowed on me by the Powers That Be just take so much out of poor, gorgeous, fashionable me."

Angel couldn't help but chuckle. Spike's impersonation of Cordelia was mean-spirited, but not inaccurate. Still, he gave the girl a bit more credit than Spike did. He was reasonably certain she was above faking a vision. "I'm pretty sure this is the real deal, Spike."

"Yeah, maybe. Still, you place a lot more stock in the value of all that hocus pocus than I do. Her visions are clear as mud most times. No details…might as well grab yourself a Ouija Board and a group of ten year olds to man the pointer for all the good they do you."

There was no real point in butting heads over that. While, in the main, Angel concurred, there was still a certain amount of value to the visions, not the least being that they used to be Doyle's. Angel still mourned the loss of his friend deeply.

He was surprised to hear the sound of three sets of footsteps in the house so soon, but it was true: Willow and the others had returned. Angel and Spike headed downstairs.

"Mr. Macho-Vamp is so not going to let you out of his sight if we tell him. Are you sure I shouldn't just make something up?" Cordelia whispered just as he entered the living room. She caught sight of him and plastered a toothpaste smile on her face. "Angel! Hi!"

"What was the vision, Cordelia?" Angel asked, letting her know by his tone that prevarication was not an option.

"Tell him," Willow added.

"Fine, but when he locks you in your room and doesn't let you out 'til it's time to head back to L.A., don't blame me."

"Cordelia," Angel growled.

"Okay, it's about Willow."

"We figured that out already, Miss Cleo, but thanks," Spike interposed, his sarcasm leavened by a healthy dollop of concern.

Cordelia glared, but continued. "This made about as much sense as every other vision I've had, but what I can remember is seeing Willow and then this shadowy figure and I just got this sense that it's someone she knows and there's going to be trouble."

Neither Angel nor Spike were exactly surprised, but the fact that this vision seemed to involve Willow exclusively was disturbing.

"It's Riley. I'm telling you, it's got to be Riley," Xander said. "As far as shadowy, menacing creeps go, he's the shadowiest and menacingest." Ungrammatical, to be sure, but Xander's point was well taken. There was no telling what Riley and his cohorts might want to do to a blossoming witch.

"Xander, he's Buffy's boyfriend. And we were even sort of friends before I left. I don't think it's him. I'm sure this is no big deal. It's probably something about the fight with Adam and we're _all_ in danger from that."

"Willow, you know that's not it," Cordelia argued. "I wouldn't have seen just you. And this wasn't Adam. I got a totally different feeling from this guy. You know him." Her earlier desire to keep Angel in the dark seemed to have vanished completely and she was now as alarmist as could be.

"Thanks for not worrying Angel," Willow offered with some venom.

"What? If I'm going to tell the truth, I'm going to tell all of it." There were times when Cordelia's gracelessness was a virtue.

"I'm all aboard the 'let's keep Deadboy in the loop' train here, Wills. At least he doesn't think Riley being Buffy's boyfriend makes him oh so peachy keen. No offense, but you do have a wacky tendency to see the good in people who aren't so good. Remember Malcolm?"

The name didn't immediately register with Angel and Spike looked utterly perplexed, but Willow's cheeks flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "That was in high school, Xander! And how was I supposed to know he was Moloch the Corruptor?"

"And that's my point!"

"Like _you_ knew!"

"I knew he was a wrong guy!"

"Because you thought there had to be something wrong with _any _guy who was interested in me!"

Another few seconds of Willow being abused and Angel was going to intervene. While he was refraining in deference to her expressed need for a bit of a compromise on his part in terms of displaying his dominance, there was a limit to what he was willing to stand.

"Hey!" Cordelia blessedly interrupted. "This is so off-topic."

While Angel wasn't so sure it wasn't germane, he was still glad to have this argument conclude for reasons even beyond his ire at seeing Willow rounded on in such a fashion. He vaguely recalled the Moloch incident, though he'd had little involvement with it beyond hearing pieces of the story from Buffy, and he was not at all comfortable with the fact that Willow had been in so much danger without him doing a damn thing to protect her. Logically, it wasn't as if he and Willow had even been more than acquaintances at that time, nonetheless, it hurt Angel to think of her being manipulated and deceived by that hideous creature while he did nothing to help.

"You got involved with Moloch the Corruptor? How the devil did you meet him?" Thanks for reopening the subject, Spike.

"Long, boring, unimportant story we won't be telling which involved internet chat rooms and other unsavory places that Willow is now smart enough not to visit." And thank you for re-ending the topic, Xander, though the boy could have been more charitable to Willow. If he shot his mouth off again, Angel was going to make sure to bring up one or two incidents from _Xander's_ past. Buffy had related one particularly colourful episode involving a giant insect that preyed on virgins…

Willow looked somewhat crestfallen, but on the other hand, she seemed no more desirous of continuing this discussion than Angel was. He watched, waiting for her to rebound, but she didn't, and he realized that this reminder of her vulnerability and of what she must have seen as her own stupidity had embarrassed her more than he'd originally thought. He gritted his teeth, willing his fangs not to drop and his true face not to emerge as he went to her and took her in his arm. Thankfully, that was something he could now do with impunity.

"Don't let him bother you," Angel whispered. "You have a good heart and that's one of the things I love best about you." He meant it, too. For all his own cold distance, he cherished the warm and trusting friendliness that was as natural to her as breathing.

He felt her fractionally relax in his arms and he smiled. Love might not cure everything, but it could cure any harm inflicted by the thoughtlessness of Xander Harris.

"So if it isn't Riley, who do you think the shadowy figure is?" Excellent question and Angel was glad Spike posed it. This was one area where brainstorming might actually be useful, especially since Cordelia and Xander had both known Willow for long enough to have some excellent ideas.

"I don't know." Willow's voice was low and uncertain as she stepped away from him and grew thoughtful. "I don't think I have any enemies. I mean, I'm pretty sure no one's still mad at me for blowing the grade curve or anything." She stumbled over her attempt at levity.

"It could be someone you would never think of," Angel offered.

"But how could I not know if they have a reason to want to hurt me?" Willow was logical, but linear. It would have surprised him but for the fact that her own desire _not_ to be worried about would make her reluctant to reason along lines that put her front and center as a target of attack.

A glare from Angel kept Spike and Cordelia and even Xander from saying anything to contradict her. She had gone through enough tonight. He could tell that the vision and the argument with Xander were weighing on her.

"Are you okay, Cordy?" Xander asked, deflecting attention from Willow.

"Yeah, thanks. Willow worked the Wiccan-y mojo and I'm just fine." She favored Xander with a soft, fond look and Angel felt his gorge rise. Spike stuck his finger down his throat and made a gagging noise, quickly disrupting whatever sentimental mood the pair had gotten caught up in.

It suddenly occurred to Angel that, whether Riley was the danger Willow faced or not, there was something she and the others still needed to know about the man. "There's something you guys need to know," he said, locking eyes with Spike, who understood immediately what he was about to reveal. "Riley might not be completely human."

Pandemonium, or something rather like it, suddenly erupted in Willow's living room.

"What do you mean 'not completely human'?" Willow finally asked when the din died down.

"I'm not sure. I only know that he smells…off. He's human, there's just something…wrong."

"And may I be the first one to raise his hand and say 'I told you so'?" Xander piped up.

Angel was too distracted to even groan at the boy's latest foolishness. Something was coalescing in his mind. Something to do with Riley's scent… "It's kind of like the way Spike's scent is off," he said haltingly, speaking up almost as soon as the idea had formed.

"My scent is off?" Spike asked worriedly.

"Yeah. The chip, I assume. Something to do with the metal it's made of or something. I don't know enough about it. I only know that you smell slightly different and I assume that's why."

"Wow. That makes sense," Willow murmured, her eyes glazed with thought. Angel could almost see the wheels turning behind them. "Do you think…do you think maybe they did something to Riley?"

"I've thought about it and that's a possibility, but I'm not sure whether it's anything like what was done to Spike. I don't know enough about the chip or what it's made of to isolate if it's the same thing. After all, demons are different from humans and…"

"And we're not bloodhounds, are we?" Spike was obviously discomfited by what Angel had just told him.

"This is not good news," Xander said, displaying a remarkable capacity for understatement.

"No, it's really not," Willow agreed, sinking down onto the couch where Cordelia sat, looking as worried as everyone else. "That's one more reason I'd better break into those files as soon as possible."

"And a good reason to keep Buffy's latest example of bad judgment from knowing about it when you do." Cordelia was contributing advice that was quite sensible. Angel suddenly felt less like a man doling out charity and more like an employer.

"Yeah…I guess so…" Willow was still a bit distracted, her mind running through possible scenarios. He knew what that faraway look meant. "Poor Buffy. I mean, she finally finds someone and…"

Angel, too, found his thoughts turning to Buffy, but not in the same sympathetic way. He should have thought of this before. If things with her pretty boy soldier went south, she was not going to take the news of his relationship with Willow at all well. And it probably wouldn't stop her from expecting him to 'console' her, either. As if he didn't hate Riley enough already just for being one of those Initiative bastards…

"My heart bleeds for the Slayer. In the meantime, what do we do about the fact that she's put her precious Riley Finn right in the midst of things? Somehow, I figure that if he's chipped, it's not to stop him from bitin' anyone."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Spike has a point. This pretty much means that the only one we can trust out of Buffy's group is Xander." Cordelia gave the boy a nod and he smiled at her. Great. When did this all become a matchmaking scheme?

What made it worse was that she was absolutely right. No one but the people in this room could know what was possibly up with Riley. Giles would surely want to bring Buffy up to speed and that would be a disaster. Unfortunately, that meant that they were now down two team members. He wasn't counting Riley or Anya.

Anya…currently starring as the elephant in the room. What on Earth was Xander going to do about her?

There wasn't any time to worry about her, at least not now. Because that familiar tingling along his spine told him even before the knock at the door that they had a visitor – Buffy was back.

Spike decided to answer, racing ahead of Willow to get to the door. "Slayer! How delightful to see you. Come back again sometime. Bye." He nearly slammed the door in her face, but Willow grabbed it and gave him her version of a death glare. It was absolutely adorable and added to the smile Angel was suppressing with some difficulty. There were times when Spike's antics were a blessing.

"Spike!" Buffy caroled, giddy in a way that raised Angel's hackles. "Even the sight of your annoying face isn't enough to ruin my day. Now step aside before I pull you out into the sunlight."

"I hope you're kidding." Angel's voice was clear and cold. He did not for one moment think that Buffy wouldn't do it, for all her apparent sprightliness.

"Lighten up, Angel. Of course I was kidding." Buffy seemed unsettled by his demeanour. Tough.

"So, Buffy, what brings you back here?" Willow ushered her in and did her best to defuse the tension.

Buffy's perky manner returned immediately. In fact, the wattage on her smile was amped up and she grabbed Willow in a tight hug. "Willow! I have the best news! I brought a surprise for you! Close your eyes…"

Angel wasn't the only one who was suddenly very nervous. Spike was taut as a bowstring. But it was Angel's nostrils which flared first, recognizing the scent of Buffy's 'surprise' even before it walked in the door…

"Oz," he said, ruining Buffy's big reveal and causing Willow's eyes to shoot open in shock. "What brings you back to Sunnydale?"

Tbc…


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oz is back and the gang confronts him.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Seven)

 

"Hey," Oz said. Not really a response, but the expected monosyllable nonetheless. Some people were silent because they didn't want to talk, but others kept silent because they had nothing to say. Angel pretty much figured that Oz belonged in the latter category. Of course, he conceded, his hatred for the wolf likely coloured his opinion of his character.

"Surprise!" Buffy squealed, trying to salvage the moment. If she had expected giddy enthusiasm from Willow, and it was obvious she had, she was sorely disappointed.

"Hey yourself," Willow said in a low-key, offhand manner.

"Well, if it isn't the King of the One Night Stands," Spike drily quipped. "What brings you here? Does tonight's act at the Bronze have a cute trick werewolf singing lead?"

Oz's face changed expression ever so slightly. The wisecrack had hit home and Buffy was quick to reassure him. "Don't pay attention to him, Oz. None of the rest of us do."

"Actually, Buffy, yeah, some of us are all on board with Spike on this one." Xander spoke and Angel nearly fainted. He was perilously near to being forced to like that boy.

"Xander!" Buffy was angry now. "He's come back and he wants to explain. I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt, don't you?"

Angel was amazed at how Buffy wasn't even stopping to ask Willow about any of this. He detested himself, but his heart soared as he saw how miserable she was. Oz was the last person in the world she wanted to see. That phase of her life was entirely over. She belonged unconditionally to Angel.

"Why? So he wants to explain himself _now_? Big deal. Who cares? He's yesterday's news. Like that shirt you have on. So over." And Cordelia made her opinion known.

Angel was watching Oz carefully as this all went on and he noticed the twitch of the werewolf's nostrils. It appeared that now everyone in the room save Buffy was aware of how things stood. He and Spike shared a look. They were ready in case things went south and a contretemps turned into a catastrophe.

"Any chance we can talk?" Oz asked, voice and mien deceptively even, his inner turmoil betrayed only by the infinitesimal tension in his posture.

"Yeah, sure," Willow said, taking a seat in a chair and indicating that Oz could be seated on the couch.

"Alone."

"I guess that's our cue to leave," Buffy said rather over-brightly. "Let's go, guys." She was at the door almost instantly, dragging Xander by the arm. None of the others budged.

"Cordelia and Spike and Angel are staying here, Oz, so I can't ask them to leave. Besides, it's kind of still daylight out."

"Are you gonna be okay, Will?" Xander asked from the doorway as Buffy made ready to depart.

"Of course she will. Oz is back." Buffy was oblivious, entirely oblivious. "Bye, Willow!" With that, she yanked Xander out the door with her and he was only barely able to grab the knob and close it behind him.

And then there were five.

"So," Willow said rather nervously, "How've you been?"

Oz merely stared. He did sit, though, and Angel considered that a good sign. He'd be easier to get the drop on in a sitting position. "Things have changed," he said.

"Yeah, well, you ran out of town without a glance backwards and never kept in touch. Safe to say that life's gone on in your absence." Spike was not going to let up and Angel was glad of it. He didn't want to be the heavy here, at least not more than necessity dictated, so it was heartening that Spike was stepping in to offer the lion's share of acrimony.

It seemed that an answer would take more than three words, so Oz offered none, preferring to stare in what he probably thought was a moody and intense way at Willow.

"Things have changed," Willow echoed, deciding to ignore Spike's observation.

"This thing…this you and Angel thing…" Ah, so he _did_ know. Good. Because now they could cut to the chase.

"It's not a 'thing'. I love Willow and she loves me." Everyone turned as Angel spoke. Willow's small smile was a benediction. "Sorry you wasted a trip."

Oz quickly turned back to Willow. "How…?"

"Funny thing about that. She went to L.A. looking for you, and…"

"Spike, I can speak for myself, okay?" Willow chided, softening her words with a gentle tone.

"Sorry," he replied, seeming rather chastened.

"Well, he's right. That's pretty much what happened. I was trying to think of where you could have gone and I thought maybe you'd gone to Angel to help you learn control. I barged in, tore Angel's place apart and…"

"The rest is history!" Cordelia crowed. "Well, not history, because that would be _you_ – as in _ancient_, musty, who-cares-about-it-except-a-bunch-of-creepy-old-men-like-Giles history – but they're something larger-than-life, so there!"

"Cordy," Willow said. "I know you mean well, but…"

"What? Like I'm going to sit here while this mangy poodle acts like he's never done anything wrong? Please!"

"Cordelia." Angel stepped in this time. As much as he gloried in his seer's incivility as currently exercised, it was making a difficult situation worse and it was upsetting Willow.

"Fine. But if I have to be tactful, I expect something out of this. Like shoes."

"What about the curse?" Oz asked.

"Oh, Angel went to the Oracles and they said he can't lose it with me." Willow grinned and then thought better of it, obviously not wanting to pour salt in Oz's wounds.

"Because…?"

"Because she accepts his demon and he doesn't have to pretend not to be one with her. Peaches may be an utter prat, but I'll say one thing for him: he's smart enough to hang on to a gorgeous, intelligent, caring woman willing to accept a man who's a bit out of the ordinary and not go playing hide the chew toy with any mongrel bitch who offers him a poke."

"Can we talk alone?" Oz's voice was as flat as ever, though Angel knew he had to be frustrated and more than a bit defensive after all he'd just heard.

"Cordy, Spike?" Willow asked. "Could you…?" She motioned for them to go upstairs or to the kitchen.

Spike got the hint – thankfully before Willow needed to enact a more intricate pantomime - and brusquely grabbed Cordelia's arm. "Fine, don't want to get fleas anyway."

"Eww…does he have fleas?" Cordelia asked as Spike hustled her out of the room.

"Angel?" Oz asked as the others' voices faded away.

Angel didn't move. Thankfully, it seemed Willow didn't expect him to depart. "He's staying, Oz. There isn't anything you have to say to me that he can't hear." He moved to stand beside her chair and she took his hand. "We have no secrets."

"What about Buffy?"

"What about her?"

"Does she know?"

Angel answered before Willow got the chance. "She will soon. I'm just waiting for the right time to tell her." Willow stared up at him, seeming to disagree, but he remained obdurate. Buffy was going to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as soon as it was at all practical.

"What about…?"

"My relationship with her? It's over. It's been over since before I moved to Los Angeles. She's my past. Willow is my present…and my future." He brought her hand up and bent to kiss it. She beamed at him.

"Willow, I… " Oz stopped for a moment and the next words came with obvious effort. "I guess I thought you'd be waiting."

Willow held her hand up, just in case he actually had another syllable or two at the ready. "Oz, a part of me is happy to see you, because I'm glad to finally see that you're okay. But I don't know if I'm touched or insulted that you thought I'd be here for you whenever you decided to come back. Did you think I was just some loser who was going to sit here, crying her eyes out and sitting by the window watching for your van? Because I did that for a long time." Willow squeezed Angel's hand as her voice rose."You never even sent a letter, not one word to tell me what you were doing. I worried and I obsessed and you were all I thought about. Then one day I got desperate and set out to find you…and…" She stopped for a moment and composed herself. Her next words were more kindly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like I don't care for you. I do. I always will. But I've moved on now. You will too, I know it. There's a girl out there just waiting for you." She did her best to give him a cheerful, Willow-y smile.

Silence reigned for a few endless moments. Oz was looking at his hands, seemingly fascinated with his grubby nails. Angel found himself feeling a bit smug as he gazed at his own perfect manicure. He knew Willow appreciated the fact that he was well-groomed.

"Why are you guys here?" Oz asked after awhile longer.

"Adam," Angel said, assuming Buffy had at least filled the werewolf in on the latest news.

Foolish assumption, as it turned out. "And he would be…?"

"He's a kind of Frankenstein the Initiative created." Oz still looked blank, so Willow explained further. "They're this creepy military outfit that experiments on demons. They even put a chip in Spike's head that keeps him from feeding."

"Huh. I was kind of wondering what he was doing here."

"Yeah, he came to us after he escaped and then he moved to L.A. with me."

"Guess that makes sense." Oz's version of sarcasm was present in that last remark, but who cared? "Where's Doyle?" he asked.

"Dead," Angel said curtly. He had no intention of sharing his grief with the wolf.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Willow's eyes never left Angel. "Cordelia has the visions now."

"Oh." That seemed to be Oz's favorite syllable. Angel used to think their mutually taciturn ways gave them a kinship. Now he knew better. There were all kinds of silence and he didn't share the one Oz inhabited.

"Is it okay if I talk to Angel?" Oz suddenly asked. Willow looked terrified, but Angel wasn't the least bit concerned. Oddly, this was the part he was comfortable with. He was a demon facing another demon now. The posturing and jockeying for territorial dominance came naturally to him. Nothing to worry about anyway, because after all, he'd marked Willow and Oz never had.

"It's okay," Angel said calmly. "Go upstairs and chat with Cordelia. I'm sure she's dying to know what's been going on down here."

"O…okay," she said, stumbling slightly over the words. "No bloodshed, alright?" She pretended she was kidding, but they all knew better.

"I promise," Angel replied with a smug grin.

Oz nodded, which Angel supposed was good enough. Willow made her way nervously out of the room, looking behind her several times as she did.

When Angel heard her reach the halfway mark on the staircase, he turned to Oz. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Willow." Big surprise.

"What about her?"

"I love her." Now there was _another_ big surprise.

"I know. But so do I."

"You claimed her."

"Yes, I did."

"You know…everything you said. I…you guys weren't totally out of line."

And suddenly Angel could have been knocked over with a feather. This was not what he expected when Oz asked to speak to him alone. "Really."

"Yeah. I'm not saying I don't wish we could...but…"

"But?"

"She deserves to be happy. I hurt her. If she loves you…"

"She does."

"Then maybe I'll be okay with it."

His estimation of the wolf's character heightened at an incalculable rate. If their positions were reversed…no, he would not have been so chivalrous. Of course, this could all be a trick, but Oz wasn't much for Machiavellianism. Gulling Willow with regards to infidelity was one thing, but duplicity on this level? Not only was it unlikely, it was statistically impossible. "Willow will be glad."

"Yeah," Oz said. Angel thought he'd never heard a more dispirited sound in his life. He was surprised by the level of compassion he felt for his predecessor _cum_ would-be rival.

"For what it's worth…" For the life of him, he had no idea how to finish that sentence. It was a trifling matter, however, because Oz seemed to understand.

"Me, too." Oz managed an extremely false version of a half-smile. "Hey, at least you're not Xander."

Angel chuckled at that. "I thought you guys had patched things up."

"We did. Doesn't mean I think he's right for Willow."

Angel nodded. He had to agree with that, and he was reasonably assured he'd have been of that opinion even were Willow not his lover.

"I better go. I'm gonna go see Devon, catch up on the boring, normal stuff."

Oz got up and Angel thought for two seconds before saying, "Hey, this business with Adam…we could use all the help we can get. If you want to come back later, we can get you up to speed."

"I gotta think about that."

"I understand." And he did. Angel knew it would be difficult for Oz to be around Willow now that she was lost to him forever. Still, he felt better for having made the gesture.

"Tell Willow goodbye for me."

"I will," Angel said to the retreating figure as Oz walked out the door and into the last hour of daylight.

That was that. Mutual respect and not the smallest threat of violence. Angel was almost stupefied. But then again, Oz had always been the peace, love, and understanding type. While Angel could not relate to his placidity in the slightest, he was glad of it for Willow's sake…and for the sake of their reason for being here in the first place. One less conflict to worry about. Could a demon shout 'Hallelujah'?

He heard the soft tread of footsteps on the stairs and suppressed a smile. "Hey," he said just as Willow tiptoed into the room.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Angel beckoned her into his arms. "Everything's fine," he replied as he held her. "Really." He knew she was skeptical even before she could say a word. "He just wants you to be happy."

"Really?" She sounded slightly disappointed and Angel chuckled. He could empathize with her. A bruised ego, while hardly a life-threatening calamity, did ache a bit.

"If it helps, he'd have felt much different if you were with Xander."

She stared up at him, extremely confused. "I thought they were friends again."

Angel laughed again. "Doesn't mean he thinks Xander deserves you."

"Oh…oh. So that means he thinks you do?"

"Seems like it."

"That's good, I guess." Willow was still slightly offended by Oz's equanimity and it made her more loveable than ever. As much as Angel cherished her virtues, there was something precious about her small failings. They were like the little freckles that dotted her porcelain skin, the imperfections that enhanced beauty. "We should probably go tell Cordelia and Spike that all's quiet on the western front."

"Yes, we should," he agreed. "And then I think we need to finish what we were in the middle of before we were so rudely interrupted."

Willow blushed crimson, still modest after all this time. "Umm…yeah. Sounds like a plan."

They didn't have to head upstairs to talk to Spike. He was in the living room with them in seconds. "Trapped upstairs with Jeanne Dixon…it was like being in Hell."

Angel could have argued that point with him, and he had the experience to back it up, but he decided not to bother. Spike's histrionics were a part of him and Angel didn't actually hate them all that much.

Adding to his rich aura of melodrama was the way he was now looking around – here, there, and everywhere. What on earth was he searching for?

"No wolf-skin rug, I see. Pity. I would have liked some bloodshed. You've gone soft, Peaches."

Angel sighed. "There was no need for violence. Oz accepted that Willow's moved on."

Spike doubled over in a short fit of laughter. "You must be kidding." He turned his attention to Willow. "You're well rid of that pathetic tosser, Red. What kind of a demon just hands his girl over with a handshake and a blessing? I'll tell you one thing: If you'd been _my_ girl, I'd be wearing the entrails of anyone who thought they could step in and take what was mine. Werewolves… Oh well. What do you expect from some creature who's only an actual demon for a couple of days a month? More like a bad case of PMS, I'd say."

"That's not nice, Spike," Willow chided. "He's a really good guy. I'm glad he's taking this so well and didn't go all wolfy or anything. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt over me." She meant it; Angel could see that. It was good that her higher feelings had overwhelmed any petty disgruntlement at Oz's mellow acceptance of her having found a new love. She hated negative emotions; he had seen that time and time again.

"Piffle." But Spike let the matter drop, realizing that going on at any greater length would be _de trop_ (though Angel was a bit amazed that fact stopped him).

"Did he say whether he was staying in town?" Willow asked.

"I didn't ask. But he said he was going to see a friend of his. I invited him to help us with Adam."

"You did?" Willow's eyes got misty and she hugged him. Angel was happier than ever that he'd made the effort to be gracious. "Thank you."

"We can use all the help we can get and he did a great job against the Mayor," Angel explained.

Spike sneered at him and Angel was almost tempted to counter with a cutting remark. For someone who allowed a _Chaos_ demon to walk off with his lover to scorn him was laughable. He managed to restrain himself, however. His ego could bear up under the disdain. He was, after all, happily grasping the brass ring.

A moment later, Spike found the remote and plunked down heavily on the couch, turning the television on as he did. It was clear he was excusing them. Which at least saved Angel from finding a way to do so himself without embarrassing Willow. She wasn't terribly comfortable talking about their sex life in front of others.

"There's a delivery from the butcher coming in a little while, Spike. Would you answer the door when it gets here?" Willow asked as Angel took her arm to accompany her upstairs. "Angel and I have to go…talk."

"Sure thing, pet," he answered, waggling his eyebrows a bit to make sure she knew he was well aware why she'd be indisposed. He enjoyed seeing her blush. Then again, so did Angel.

Without another word, they left the room and headed upstairs to the erstwhile sanctity of Willow's parents' sterile bedroom. Chintz was as far from Angel's taste as it was possible to get, but at least the bed was queen size and the door to the room would afford them some privacy. Given how little time they spent in it, Angel wondered why her parents had bothered to furnish it at all. Well, at least with Willow and Angel occupying it, the bed would get some proper use.

He closed the door behind them and, within seconds, they were in each other's arms. Her modesty had, it seemed, been checked at the door, and her appetite matched his own, something Angel found immensely gratifying.

Satin-smooth skin was soon bared to his touch as he tore open her blouse. He'd buy her another one. What he needed right now was to touch her, to taste her, to be inside her, and that blouse was one barrier to slaking his hunger.

"Oh," she exclaimed, as her jeans were undone and pulled down. She stepped out of them quickly, not objecting when he ripped away her bra and panties. He disrobed himself so speedily that he could scarcely recollect so doing. All that mattered was that no obstacle yet remained to having Willow.

They were on the bed in seconds and he kissed his way down her body. He reveled in her moans and gasps as his mouth found her nipple and his fingers readied her for his entry, building an ache within her that he'd soon satisfy in ways pleasurable to them both.

Once he was inside her, it was as if the world had transformed. No more Adam or Oz or Buffy or Faith, no more visions and curses. Redemption and happiness were right here - in the body that welcomed him into its depths, in the beauty that would never grow stale, in the heart that gave him the truest home he had ever known. The universe was comprised wholly of their two bodies; there was nothing beyond the borders of skin and flesh and passion.

His thrusts became more powerful and she met them, calling out her pleasure just as he did. It wasn't long before they reached completion. This coupling was all about need; there would be time for play and teasing and exploring each other now that the edge was off their hunger.

He pulled out of her and lay beside her, reveling in the afterglow. The softness of her lips against his shoulder made him turn his head, his eyes meeting hers as he got lost in her desire.

This time it was _her_ mouth that journeyed down _his_ body. But she was more deliberate and more intent on the game itself. Her tongue flicked lightly against his nipple and he moaned before he could restrain himself. His cock responded to her efforts as well, and it was readily apparent that she was aware she had the upper hand. Still, this was a game worth allowing her to win, so he didn't mind relinquishing his advantage.

She moved over him, her tongue licking a slow, tortuous path down his chest to his navel before dipping inside. His hips surged up of their own volition and she chided him. "Uh-uh, mister. Not yet."

When she smiled in a way that reminded him of her vampire double, his cock grew more painfully hard. It wasn't that he wanted her to ever become that demon, but knowing the potential was inside her…oh yeah, that was intoxicating. There was something intriguing about that shadow hiding behind her bright light. It captivated him, calling to something atavistic and demonic within him.

Moments and more excruciatingly glorious torment later, he was rendered incapable of further thought: her mouth engulfed him – cruelty and ecstasy. She kept her movements slow, holding back just enough to keep the suction of that hot, wet mouth from sending him over the edge. Her hands on his hips were a warning and he acquiesced, restraining his body as it longed to buck up into that viciously talented mouth, to try to take what she refused to give – the sweetness of release.

But for all that her smile had echoed her doppelganger, Willow was – blessedly - not one for torture. Before it could rise to the levels he himself had been wont to inflict on Spike and Drusilla in days gone by, Willow ended his delirious suffering. She picked up the pace and that talented mouth soon welcomed his spend. He came – hard – crying out her name.

When he came down from the high of his orgasm, he could see her, chin on his thigh, gazing up him with an impish grin. "I love you," he told her as he reached down and ruffled her hair. She beamed. "And not just because of this either."

"I know," she replied, her eyes suddenly wise and calm. She _did_ know, and in that moment Angel felt happier than he'd ever thought possible…and his soul sat secure and serene within him, just as it should. He wasn't sure he'd ever believed he could feel as grateful to the mercurial PTB as he did right now. No matter what had gone before, and what might come later, they had given him a gift far beyond anything he could ever have hoped for. Being human again meant nothing, _was_ nothing, compared to this.

Willow crawled up the bed and lay beside him, smiling softly as she, like he, became lost in thought. In a few minutes, or maybe an hour, they'd get out of bed and the rest of the world – a world of danger and difficulty - would exist again. But for now, they could enjoy the luxurious refuge of a nation of two.

Tbc…


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you misinterpret a vision, the consequences can be dire, as Angel and the gang discover. Will they be able to save two of their own before it's too late?

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Eight)

 

_"It's okay. I trust you."_

With those words, he'd sent Willow off to help Oz get back into classes at the university and maybe do some snooping around to see if she could find out anything about Adam or the Initiative.

And it was true, he _did_ trust her. He knew it would be good for her to talk to her ex, to establish a friendship with him again. He wasn't the slightest bit worried that she'd change her mind, or that Oz would make some sort of pass at her, and he was quite convinced Oz meant Willow no harm and therefore was not the man warned of in Cordelia's vision. So why, then, was Angel as nervous as a cat? He hadn't been able to sit still, or stay seated at all, for at least an hour. Even Spike was on edge, his affected cool entirely absent as he shot glances at the clock nearly every other minute. Maybe it was because it was getting on into the late afternoon. Where the devil were they?

"Would you two quit pacing?" Cordelia groused as she sat at the kitchen table and painted her nails. "I'm tired of watching you guys act like overprotective mothers. Willow's with Oz…in broad daylight. There's nothing to worry about."

Those last words were barely spoken when Cordelia slid off her chair in obvious agony, knocking over her bottle of nail polish which poured a ribbon of pink onto the table and down onto her blouse. Angel could care less. All he cared about was what Cordelia was seeing this time. He had a horrible feeling it pertained to Willow.

That suspicion was easily confirmed by the tears in Cordelia's eyes when she finally came out of her trance. "Oh my God."

"What, you stupid bint?" Spike spat out.

"It's Willow…I…I kind of got the vision wrong the first time."

"You what?" Two voices yelled as one, but Spike backed off in deference to Angel's stronger claim on a right to anger.

"I'm sorry, okay? The pain and the general weirdness make these visions a little unclear. If you want to get mad at anyone, yell at the stupid Powers That Be!" She was crying now and it was obvious she was going to be useless unless Angel calmed her down.

"Cordelia," he said, his voice now soft and consoling, "I apologize. Just tell me what you saw this time."

She pulled herself back up into her chair, not even noticing the nail polish stains yet. This was bad; it had to be. Angel nearly trembled as he waited for her to speak. "She isn't in danger _from_ the guy in the vision…she's in danger _because_ of the guy in the vision."

There was a roaring in Angel's ears and no one spoke. The import of Cordelia's words was felt like a hammer blow. Willow was out there…in daylight where Angel couldn't get to her…and she might be in terrible danger. The hell with _might be_…she _was_ in terrible danger. His senses didn't lie.

Why did he have to pick today to be broad-minded and understanding? Why hadn't he acted like the demon he was and forbade Willow from going anywhere with a man who wasn't him?

The sound of the front door bursting open roused him, and he and Spike and Cordelia all ran into the living room at once. There were visitors, and that didn't help with Angel's tension level at all.

"Slayer," Spike said, obviously not caring that she wasn't alone, "what brings you here?"

Buffy frowned, but didn't seem angry at Spike's use of her job title in the presence of a stranger. Who was the blonde standing beside her anyway? And how quickly could he get her to leave so they could ask Buffy about Willow?

"Guys, this is Tara."

"We've met," Spike answered. Now that he knew her name, Angel remembered hearing about her. She was the one who had a crush on Willow. Now he was terrified. This girl's presence here must mean something had already happened.

"Willow's i-in danger," Tara stuttered.

"We kind of knew that already," Cordelia replied in a supercilious tone, anxiety robbing her of what precious little tact she possessed.

"Cordelia," Buffy growled, "this is serious, okay. Willow and Oz were taken by the Initiative."

Spike was paler now than Angel had ever seen him, but that was nothing compared to Angel's reaction. His lover, his _mate_ was in the hands of sadists so cruel they outshone Angelus. Only the knowledge of approaching twilight kept him sane. It did not, however, keep his human mask in place. He was ridged and fanged for a moment before regaining control and he couldn't care less what effect that had on the girl who was now huddled behind Buffy.

"How the _hell_ did this happen?" he growled.

"T-they said s-something about a wolf a-and when Willow tried to s-stop them from taking her friend, they-they took her, too," Tara said softly, her voice choked with fear.

"You saw this then?" Spike asked, his voice trembling ever so slightly. Angel couldn't look at him. He'd see hard knowledge of what might be happening to Willow in his eyes and he couldn't bear it.

Tara nodded.

"How did you know to tell Buffy?" Cordelia asked, ever suspicious.

"I've-I've seen them together a-a lot."

"I'm guessing the vampire thing isn't news to you either, since you haven't run. Why is that?"

"'Cause she's a witch," Spike said softly, seemingly trying to calm the girl's fears. "Willow told me she met you in that Wicca group. Said you were the only one who believed in magic."

Angel growled, already sick of this conversation. They knew what they needed to know. The Initiative had Willow. They had to get her out. Darkness would be falling in just a few minutes and then…

Tara was cowering again. "It's okay. He has a soul." Buffy tried to soothe the girl, all the while giving Angel looks filled with uncomfortable curiosity – curiosity about which Angel could not have cared less.

"I-I better go," Tara said quietly.

Buffy ushered her to the door. "Thanks," she said to the departing girl, who smiled nervously before the door closed behind her and she made her way back to wherever it was she came from…the university dormitories most likely.

Angel was glad she was gone. He'd rather not discuss any of this further in front of people he didn't know. There was a question that he wanted to ask…and to which he'd better not get the answer he feared most. "How did they know about Oz?"

Now it was Buffy's turn to look terrified and Angel knew his suspicions had been right. "I…I kind of told Riley."

Angel couldn't speak. He'd known she was going to say that, but somehow it made him angrier than he'd believed possible to hear the words. Bitch! How in the hell could she have been so mind-numbingly thoughtless and stupid? If Willow did not come out of this unharmed, Buffy was going to wish she'd fallen into Angelus's hands.

"What are we waiting for?" Angel was with Spike on that, but they did have to wait for night to descend. Thank all that was holy and not for the fact that it wouldn't be long.

Just at that moment, Xander and Anya burst in…followed by Riley. In seconds, Angel had him by the throat; once again, he was in game face. It wasn't the soul that bastard was dealing with now. "What in the hell have you done with Willow?"

Riley gasped and choked as Angel's grip tightened. The demon in him rejoiced at the sight of bulging eyeballs and the heady aroma of fear and desperation. Xander, however, just had to cut in. "Angel, stop. He's trying to help, okay?"

The boy was as dumb as a bag of rocks if he believed that, but Angel supposed there was something to be gained from letting the bastard live long enough to at least tell them how to get into the Initiative compound.

"Fine." He let go of Riley's throat and allowed his human face to slide back over his true features. "Talk."

"I had nothing to do with it. But I've seen them there. They're both still alive," Riley gasped out. His hand massaged his throat. Finger-shaped marks remained and Angel fought a smile. A demon always relished the sight of its own mark.

"Can you get us in?" Buffy asked. Her eyes were shadowed. Seems she didn't entirely trust her shiny toy soldier.

"Yes." He stopped for a moment and looked around. "We'll go in the back way. We can't use the Lowell House elevator. They know I've gone rogue."

"Fine, you, me, and Xander will head for the back entrance." Buffy headed for the door. He couldn't believe her nerve.

"I'm going with you."

"Angel, you can't. It's too dangerous." He couldn't bear it. The soft, longing look nearly brought his game face back. How could she deny Willow his aid for the sake of a love that died long ago?

"She's a member of _m_y team, Buffy. I am not going to stand by and do nothing while…" He couldn't finish the thought.

"I'm going, too," Spike said softly. "There's no way in hell I'm trusting this Initiative bastard to rescue Red, and if things go south, we can do a trade. 'M sure they'd love to get their hands on Hostile 17 again."

"Spike," Angel warned.

"This isn't up to you, Peaches. She's my friend, best I've ever had. I _know_ what they do in there. It's not happening to her…not while I'm still undead."

Angel nodded. Then, to the surprise of everyone, the two of them most of all, he grabbed Spike and pulled him close. The embrace was brief, but meaningful. They were turning a corner now, and he knew that when this was over, things would be different.

Buffy looked as if she were comforted somehow and Angel realized it was because she believed Spike was the one in love with Willow. Maybe that had been part of the reason for Spike's outburst and if so, Angel was even more grateful. They needed Buffy on their side for the moment and she would be too caught up in her own angst if she tumbled to the truth right now to be of any use at all.

"Can any of you guys hack into the city electrical system?" she asked suddenly. "I'm thinking it might be helpful if you could power down the Initiative."

Anya and Cordelia both raised their hands. Anya was glaring at Cordelia who, thankfully, was actually keeping her eye on the ball and not obsessing over Xander Harris. "Willow's taught me a whole bunch of stuff," Cordelia stated proudly.

"Great. Cordelia, you do that." Cordelia raced upstairs to grab her laptop.

Anya was pouting, obviously upset at being pushed aside in favour of her erstwhile rival. "I don't see what the point is. I'm sure they've both been eviscerated by now."

Spike shot a glance at Angel and vamped. It was an obvious signal for him to keep his cool, despite the struggle that entailed.

"Shut your gob or I'll test this chip out and see if it works on spayed vengeance demons."

"I think now would be a good moment for quiet time, An," Xander said with more than a hint of anger. The bloom was obviously off the rose. Anya looked lost as she sat down on the sofa. Angel could scarcely believe that now, after all this time, she finally seemed to realize that her crass ways might not be charming.

"Let's go," Riley said. "The sooner we get to them, the better."

Angel could not have agreed more. He and Spike grabbed their coats, along with weapons for all, and, with Buffy and Xander and Riley, were out the door in a trice.

"Be careful, Xander," Anya called out after them.

"Bring Willow home safe," Cordelia yelled.

"And Oz," Anya added, obviously trying a bit of one-upmanship. It didn't matter. No one cared what was being said by anyone or about petty romantic rivalries, at least Angel and Spike didn't care and Angel didn't give a damn about anyone else. All he could think of was rescuing Willow.

*****

The forest was dark and deserted. Angel kept his senses keenly tuned, on guard for a trap. He wouldn't put it past Riley to have set them all up to be captured.

He hadn't said a word since they left the house, not even allowing himself to grumble when they stopped to pick up two lab coats for Xander and Buffy to use as disguises. There was too much tension and anger in him to trust himself to speak. In fact, he'd been so anxious that he was glad he hadn't offered the use of Willow's car; the walk had quieted him and made him steady enough to do battle.

"By the way," he asked, now that he was calm enough for speech, "how did they know about Oz?" He knew Buffy had told her soldier boy, but how the knowledge got from him to the others was something he wanted to know.

"We were overheard, I guess. Buffy and I were talking in the cemetery last night and…"

"And hey, no chance of anyone like, say, a member of an evil government death squad lurking around there, now is there." It was now official – Angel liked Xander.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Defensiveness made Buffy's voice high and shrill and Angel wished she'd lower her tone. What part of 'stealth mission' was so difficult for her to grasp? Sometimes it was hard to believe she was the best Slayer who ever lived.

"We'll rip the Slayer's intestines out when this is over, Xander. Right now, we have Willow to save." Xander didn't offer a word in argument. It seemed like Anya wasn't the only one whose light was dimming in Xander's eyes. Would wonders never cease?

"And Oz," Riley added.

"Sure thing…if there's enough time." Spike could have cared less about the werewolf and, while Angel had a somewhat higher regard for the boy, he too would leave him behind if need be.

"And here we are," Riley announced, heading for a metal door partially hidden by brush. He opened a panel and punched in a code, then pulled the door open. "We need to get to Colonel McNamara. He can take us to Willow and Oz."

"Go in first," Angel said. He still didn't trust the commando.

"Right," Riley grumbled, but he obeyed. As soon as it seemed clear, they were all in.

Just being in the building revived the panic within Angel. His love was here…and what might have happened to her almost made him retch. He could feel that she was alive, but a claim wasn't good for much more than that, though he figured severe pain might register as well and he was thankful he couldn't sense anything of that kind.

"Where's the Colonel?" Angel asked. At that precise moment, the lights went off. Bless Cordelia – she really _had_ paid attention to all of Willow's tutorials.

A few turns down this hall and that and they reached their destination: Colonel McNamara's quarters. Buffy pointed her crossbow at the man just as he tried to get out of bed.

"Hey," she said as she stopped him from grabbing a weapon of his own, "you know who I am?"

"Yeah." The man tried hard to sound calm, but Angel smirked as he smelled the fear rolling off of him in thick, heavy waves.

"Then you know I'm pretty good with this thing. Take us to them."

The man ignored her for a moment, his eyes seeking out and finding Riley's form in the near-darkness. "You'll be court-martialed for this, Finn."

"Yeah. Sure thing. But right now, you're taking us to Willow and Oz, so get dressed."

The Colonel dressed quickly; he wasn't stupid enough to try any delaying tactics. "You know you're not going to get away with this, right?"

There was no need to reply to a predictable bit of puffery like that, so Angel didn't bother. Instead, he grabbed one arm and Buffy grabbed the other. They pointed their weapons at the Colonel's head as he led them to where Willow and Oz were being held.

The sight that greeted him when they arrived made the borrowed blood in his veins turn to ice. Willow was huddled in one corner of a glass paneled cell, naked and crying…Angel couldn't contain himself. He vamped.

At that moment, the room filled with soldiers. "One wrong move and your leader is lunch," Angel growled, fangs poised at the Colonel's neck. He wanted to rip the man's throat out anyway. If Willow had been violated, not one Initiative soldier would live

"Get them out," Buffy said, as gun after gun was lowered in surrender.

Now Angel noticed that Willow wasn't alone in the cell. At the other end, Oz was huddled in a ball, equally unclothed and equally miserable.

One of the soldiers grudgingly opened the door. "Xander," Angel ordered, "give her your coat." The boy obeyed with alacrity, tossing his white lab coat over Willow, who donned it as hastily and modestly as she could. One of the soldiers leered as he watched and Angel growled a warning. He made a note of the man's face and scent…later, he'd exact revenge.

Buffy tossed her own coat to Xander, who threw it to Oz. What had been a bit oversized on Buffy covered the werewolf well enough.

Seconds later, Willow ran out of the cell. With a nod from Angel, Spike and Buffy grabbed the Colonel and pointed their weapons at his head. Willow, meanwhile, ran straight into Angel's arms.

He held her tight, his senses probing for any sign that she'd been hurt in any way. Luckily, he couldn't smell any evidence of rape, but the fact that she'd been stripped made his blood boil. It was obvious it had shamed her and the demon within him saw it as a challenge to his claim.

Oz was out now as well and, with weapons still trained on the Colonel, they made their way to the elevator. Angel's arm remained around Willow, who had not stopped trembling, though her tears were dry. He could smell the fear and humiliation on her and it made him ill. "It's alright, sweetheart. I'm here," he murmured softly to her as they traveled up to safety.

"Are you okay, Will?" Xander asked. "What the hell did you people do to her" That last might have been addressed to the Colonel, but it could also have been meant for Riley. Xander's eyes never left Willow.

"I think we should talk about this later," Oz said, his voice shaking slightly. Angel shot him a glance of silent thanks. There was no need to share the depth of damage caused with the authors of it.

"Let's go," Buffy said as the elevator reached its destination. All but Buffy and Riley – and the Colonel, of course.

"We'll wait for two minutes, if they're not out, we leave anyway," Angel said. No one argued, though Willow seemed to be of a different mind.

"Sod the Slayer. I say we get some explosives and bomb this whole bloody place!" Spike kicked a tree for emphasis, his face flickering to demon and back.

That actually sounded like a fine idea to Angel, but before he could express approval, Buffy and Riley arrived. "We'd better split up," Riley said. "They'll be looking for us."

"Fine." Angel was more than willing to take the commando's advice on that point. "We'll find a place to lay low. You and Buffy do the same."

"Angel…"

"We'll talk later, Buffy."

With that, he hustled his group away. He already knew where they were going. With the fact that his demon had come so much to the fore tonight, he was suddenly homesick for the mansion.

*****

It didn't take them long; Xander and Willow might be human, but they were used to making haste and they did, fueled in no small part by Willow's continued embarrassment at wearing nothing but a lab coat. Oz didn't seem to feel too much better about it all. Both of them were very subdued.

Spike was muttering to himself, clenching and unclenching his fists, obviously furious over Willow's capture and the condition she was in now. Angel himself was numb. He had shut down, knowing that if he were to give in…to _feel_…he would have gone back and killed Riley, every soldier they'd encountered, maybe even Buffy. He didn't think he could be rational if he allowed himself the smallest emotion.

The mansion was dark and cold, but it was safe, and the chill as well as the absence of light were easily remedied. His ownership and reputation seemed to have kept it vacant and there was no way the Initiative would track them here, at least not for quite awhile.

He flipped a light switch. Good - it was working. "Xander," he said, turning to the boy as the group stood in the dusty front room, "go back to the house. Get Cordelia and Anya and pack up as many of our things as you can, including Willow's laptop and Cordelia's. Then load it into Willow's car and drive it here. Tell Cordelia I said _you_ are to drive."

"The Mercedes?" Xander asked, his eyes wide.

Angel merely nodded, but Xander got the message. Before leaving, however, he walked up to Willow and touched her cheek. "You're safe now, Will. Everything's gonna be okay." With that, he was back out the door, headed for Willow's house.

"We should get in touch with Giles," Willow said softly.

"Later," Angel said, guiding her over to the couch. It, like everything else, was dusty, but he didn't think Willow cared if the lab coat got dirty. He didn't want to do this, but now was the time to ask some questions. He only hoped the numbness would hold; he knew that whatever he heard would be terrible.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked, his voice as calm as he could make it. Spike stood by the fireplace, holding a poker. But when the answer came, it didn't come from Willow.

"They kinda thought we'd mate. Or they thought I'd rape her. Not sure which." Oz's voice held as much emotion as Angel had ever heard, but it barely registered. In a flash, he was on his feet, the low table before the sofa smashed to splinters in a trice. His face was a mask of fury. Oz cowered. "I didn't touch her."

"I know," Angel growled and Oz fractionally relaxed.

"He didn't…but they wanted…and they said…they called me names, Angel. And they treated me like I was some dirty animal."

Willow was crying again and it broke Angel's heart. As much as the numbness was gone and the fury of which only the smallest portion had just been displayed was building deep within him, what was suddenly predominant was his love for Willow and his need to comfort her. There would be time for rage and vengeance later. Tonight, his lover needed him to hold her and protect her and make her feel safe.

"Spike, take Oz upstairs. I'm sure some of your old clothes are still here. They'll do for now."

Spike knew enough not to disobey and, with one last compassionate glance at Willow, he headed out of the room. "Coming, wolf?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," Oz replied before turning to Angel and saying, "Thanks. For rescuing us and…"

Angel nodded and Oz followed Spike upstairs.

He and Willow were alone. The sound of her continued sobs was anguishing, feeding the cold fury that hungered to spring to full and vibrant life, eager for the chance to mete out torture and death. Somehow, he managed to keep it at bay, knowing it was the last thing Willow needed to see in him now. He sat next to her again, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "It's alright, sweetheart. You're here, you're safe, and I will never let them near you again." She clutched at him and wept all the more, giving him all her pain and shame.

Despite the fact that she hadn't been raped, she _had_ been violated, he realized. The soldiers had done their best to rob her of her dignity and her humanity, and their intention to see her brutalized was an assault in itself. These men were monsters, as much or more so than any demon. He wondered again how Buffy could be with one of them. Had there been other girls before Willow - girls not lucky enough to be close to an Initiative member's girlfriend? Had Riley watched and taken notes while they were forced open and raped by demons? Had he joked and laughed and dehumanized them?

"I love you," he said, hoping the words meant enough. "I am so sorry I let this happen to you." There were other things he thought of saying, about how nothing they did could really touch her or taint her, but somehow he knew telling her that would only make her think he saw her as damaged and he decided that silence was far more healing than the wrong words, no matter how well meant.

It was a long while before she spoke, before the crying quieted enough to _allow_ her to speak, but eventually she said, "It's not your fault."

"I…"

"Shh," she said as she touched her finger to his lips. "It's not your fault. And hey, bonus points for showing up in the nick of time and rescuing me." She forced a wobbly smile and Angel almost couldn't bear how much he loved her at that moment. She was brave and sweet and plucky and forgiving…and she was his. "I love you," she said.

He kissed her. It was a soft kiss, free from the passion she didn't need tonight. It was worship and tenderness and affection, it was an expression of how purely and truly he loved her, and she received it gratefully. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the tenderness she alone brought out in him.

She was safe now; that was what mattered and it would be enough to keep the demon within him at bay, at least for tonight.

Tomorrow, however, he would plan his revenge.

Tbc…


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel supports Willow in the aftermath of her capture and rescue.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Nine)

 

Unfortunately, Angel did not get to spend as much time alone with Willow as he would have liked. It wasn't long at all before their embrace was interrupted.

"Oh my God! Willow! Are you having sex with Angel?"

The others were here.

Anya was _never_ someone he wanted to see, but Angel had never been less overjoyed to see her than he was right now.

"He's consoling her, An. In case you forgot, we just rescued her from the Initiative. Major badness, remember?" Xander sounded less than thrilled with his girlfriend. Angel only hoped Cordelia's barely-suppressed smile was suppressed enough.

"I know that." Anya did not wear peevishness well. "The way he was holding her just looked very sexual to me."

"I'd like to know something that doesn't," Cordelia muttered. Angel hoped he was the only one who heard. She was pushing her luck and he would be having words with her later.

"We had a pretty tough time of it." Oz could not have picked a better time to reappear. "I even hugged Spike." Thank heavens his childe hadn't heard that.

But Spike suddenly made an entrance and it seemed that he had. Luckily, he decided to play along. "Yeah, well, as long as you don't make a habit of it." He turned to the new arrivals. "Harris, Linda Goodman, demon girl."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, but Xander was up to the task of ending it. "How are you guys?" he asked, obviously meaning Willow and Oz.

"I'm okay." Willow spoke for the first time since everyone had burst in. He turned to look at her and she seemed truthful. Maybe she was okay. Angel certainly hoped so, but she'd been through quite an ordeal.

"Did they experiment on you?"

"An!" Xander nearly yelled.

"What?"

 

"You know that acting human thing we talked about? I'm thinking you need more practice before you try it in public."

There was something that looked almost like tears shining in Anya's eyes right now, though Angel had a hard time giving her credit for that much feeling, and she looked torn between holding her ground and running out the door. Oh how Angel hoped she'd choose the latter course of action.

"Sorry," Anya muttered. Maybe she was sincere, though Angel was pretty sure she didn't even know why she was apologizing. Sadly, though, the apology obviously meant that she was staying.

Oz looked nearly as green as Willow did and Angel realized he was possibly as traumatized as Willow was. At any rate, neither of them was looking at Anya, or at each other. Angel put his arm around Willow again. He didn't give a tinker's damn if Anya knew the truth.

Willow was about to say something conciliatory to Anya but Angel squeezed her arm and she held her tongue. If they were ever going to properly train Xander's bitch, they couldn't reward her for partial compliance.

"Where's Buffy?" Cordelia asked.

"With Captain America, where else?" Spike answered. "Good thing, too. Because if she wasn't the only thing standing between me and that Initiative bastard…this chip in my head couldn't save him." He looked at Willow as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Angel gave him as close to a fond look as he ever had or ever would. They were family, the three of them, and that meant more than words could say.

"Thanks, Spike," Willow said, favouring him with a smile of her own, "but Riley wasn't…I mean he's not…"

"Don't kid yourself, Red. Those bastards are all the same."

"As much as I hate to say it, I'm with Spike on this one. I say we keep Buffy's khaki arm candy out of the loop from now on. For all we know, he thinks Adam's the neatest thing ever." Cordelia wasn't always wrong.

"I don't want to seem like some kind of devil's advocate or anything, but he did actually help rescue Willow and Oz," Xander offered.

"Only because he wants to keep shagging the Slayer, I'll wager." Spike made a gagging gesture as he spoke and Angel couldn't stifle the chuckle it elicited.

"You're not upset?" Anya asked. He knew her silence had been too good to last.

"No, I'm not. Buffy and I broke up a long time ago."

"So you and Willow really _are_ together."

"An!"

"Yes, we are." Willow's soft confirmation shocked everyone, but it was a very happy shock for Angel. He kissed her gently, ever mindful of tonight's ordeal.

Anya was about to say something that Angel knew was going to piss him off past the point of letting her live through the night when Xander spoke. "His soul's safe, so Willow can make him as happy as she wants to - and as happy as I really don't want to think about - and there's nothing to worry about."

"You knew?" Xander's girlfriend was in quite a temper now. Angel almost felt sorry for him…maybe not almost. Xander _had_ been an awful lot of help lately.

"I told him to keep his mouth shut," Angel said, his voice harsh and just a shade demonic. It was convincing and Xander shot him a covert grateful look.

"Oh," was all that Anya had to say in reply. Another crisis averted. "Does Buffy know?"

"No, and we're not going to tell her." Xander addressed Anya in a decidedly instructional and patronizing tone. She didn't seem to mind. Angel got the feeling she was used to it. "We're all staying here tonight, right?" Xander asked.

Another reason to be grateful to the boy, because he had been hoping for an excuse to get Anya out of his sight. "Yeah, why don't you grab the bags and head upstairs. Spike can show you all where you can sleep."

Spike looked a bit annoyed at having been relegated to glorified servant status, but he didn't argue. The others all did as they were told.

Cordelia, in fact, seemed eager…too eager, and Angel had a feeling she was going to try to maneuver Xander and Anya into separate rooms. He needed to have a talk with his seer.

"Willow, Spike will show you to my room. I want to talk to Cordelia about that last vision of hers. We'll be up in a minute."

Cordelia opened her mouth to protest, but the look in Angel's eyes was not something she took lightly. Willow seemed a bit unsettled, but he hugged her again and, while she gave him a rather searching glance, she gave in gracefully. "I love you," she whispered, and then she followed the others.

Alone at last - because this talk with Cordelia was long overdue.

Just as he was trying to think of a graceful way to start the ball rolling, however, she stunned him by getting right to the point. "This is about me and Xander, isn't it?"

"Yes." Angel didn't get a chance to say anything more.

"Look, I know you probably think this is really soon after Doyle and all, and I know you don't like Xander, but Doyle and I…we never even got the chance to _be_ a couple. I liked him a lot and in a little more time, yeah, I probably would have fallen in love with him, but here's the deal…he's dead." That was a slap in the face, and Angel almost hated her, but she wasn't done. "And not dead in the still-walking-and-talking way like you and Spike either. I'm sorry, but he's gone. I'm not. Unlike you, though, I don't have a bunch of time to lurk and brood and eat rats and pine away until the male equivalent of Willow tears up _my_ apartment and forces me to stop acting like a loser and get a life. I'm young and beautiful, but that won't last for very long and, thanks to Doyle and these stupid visions, I now have a very limited dating pool to go along with my short lifespan. Xander may not be the handsomest, richest, most successful fish in the sea, but he loved me once and…anyway, aren't we supposed to be all about saving people from demons?"

Huh? That last bit had Angel scratching his head. He waited, hoping she'd explain. With an exasperated sigh, she did just that. "Hello? Xander, who has been helping us this whole time, is trapped in the clutches of an evil vengeance demon! We can't just leave him like that. It's…wrong. What if she gets her powers back? That could happen, you know. This _is_ the Hellmouth. Horrible things could happen to Xander and it's up to us to make sure he's safe."

Angel couldn't help it…he laughed. As angry as he still was with her for moving on so quickly, he had to concede that she had a point. But it was hard for him to think like someone who knew the clock was ticking. Time was so very different to him.

Cordelia, though – she was Cordelia. Was it fair for him to expect her to mourn the way he did when she saw each day as a thief, robbing her of the beauty even he was wont to consider her chief asset? She was a pragmatist, utterly free of romantic fancies. Love was different to her. She didn't understand the concept of forever, at least not when it didn't involve something tangible.

He decided that what it came down to was that she was human, completely and unequivocally human. Despite the visions, she would never be like Willow. He couldn't hold her to the same standards to which he held his family. It was as simple as that.

He nodded. "I don't want any of this to get in the way of what we're doing, so I expect you to hold off and not cause any trouble until after we've taken care of Adam, but I won't stand in the way of you being happy."

He was almost knocked down when Cordelia sprang forward, enveloping him in an embrace that was neither expected nor welcome. Still, he let her get away with her hyperbolic emotional display for a moment before making it clear through increasingly stiff arms and posture that he was more than ready for it to be over. After a further too-long moment, she got the hint and let go.

"Sorry," she said, though she sounded put-out by his lack of affection.

"You need to get some sleep and so do I. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

And that was that. It felt good to take control of something, to stop a crisis before it occurred. He'd felt so helpless tonight when Willow was…

Best not to think about those feelings. After all, he _had_ rescued her in time and she was safe upstairs in his bed, waiting for him.

He waited for a moment until after Cordelia was gone, then he, too, headed upstairs, making sure his emotions were completely under control. While Willow was no vampire, she had a way of sensing his moods and she didn't need to worry about _his_ fears and anxiety. She was the one, after all, who had been captured. She needed to be cared for and tended and not to be burdened with his weaknesses.

Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised to see her pacing when he entered his old bedroom, but he was. She was dressed in a pair of his old pajamas, black silk ones. He'd been wondering what had happened to those. He must have accidentally left them behind when he'd departed Sunnydale.

"What vision were you talking to Cordelia about?" she asked, rounding on him immediately. Her manner might have been more cowing had she not looked so adorable in the far too large garments.

He suppressed a grin and replied, "I wasn't talking to her about a vision."

Willow looked deflated, then confused, before he could almost see a light bulb go on over her head. "Oh…oh! You were talking to her about Xander."

"Exactly. But I could hardly announce that to everyone, now could I?"

"No, I kind of think that might have led to a major meltdown." She seemed lost in thought for a moment before speaking again. "I…um…how do you feel about it? I mean, if there even is an 'it', because Xander's still with Anya, and I'm thinking Xander might be the only one of us who hasn't figured out that Cordelia is carrying a torch still and…" She was hopelessly tangled in her words and she paused to collect herself before saying something that made him realize how well she understood him. "I guess this has to hurt. I mean, because of Doyle."

He pulled her to him in an embrace so very different from the one he'd been forced into with Cordelia downstairs. "Yeah. I know that she has a right to move on and that she didn't feel as close to Doyle as I did…as I _do_, but…"

"But it hurts," she said softly. The warmth of her seeped into him, not just the heat of her body, but of her heart. It meant everything to Angel.

"Thank you," he whispered as they stood, holding each other. He realized that, despite his best intentions, she was taking care of him. Time to set things right. "How are you holding up?"

She withdrew from his arms. "I'm okay," she said, eyes downcast and shadowed.

"No, you're not."

"Angel," she gazed at him pleadingly, "I am okay, okay?"

"Willow, you aren't. You don't have to lie to me. I'm not like the others – your parents, your friends. You should know that by now. You don't have to deal with this alone. Lean on me. I won't let you fall."

With that, she was back in his arms. _Where she belonged_. There were tears, and they burned, but she needed to cry and he needed to let her. He hadn't lied. She could lean on him and he'd be long past dust before he'd let her fall.

"It was awful," she said after a time. "I…I never thought I could ever feel so dirty. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget the way they looked at me." Angel fought back the ridges and fangs. It wouldn't be fair to her for this to be about his anger. She'd stop talking, and she needed to let it all out. "No one's ever called me names like that, or talked about me the way they did. It was…it was like they got inside me, you know? I mean, I know it could have been worse…and they _wanted_ it to be worse…and if you hadn't gotten there… Thank you," she said, before she broke down again.

He held her for a long while, letting her sob the pain and humiliation out, letting the relief at what _hadn't_ happened finally break through. He held her through it all.

He wondered for a moment or two why she hadn't showered, but then he realized that nudity and a glass wall would have taken her right back to the Initiative and it made sense. Maybe he'd suggest a bath in the morning, but for now…no, she just needed rest.

She started to sag against him, a predictable adrenaline crash, and he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He tucked her in, stroking her hair before he went to change into something himself. Normally, he slept nude, as did Willow, but tonight that would not be the right thing at all. He found a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants in a drawer and changed in the closet, feeling rather reticent about being nude where Willow could see tonight.

"Thank you," she said again when he came out. She sounded sleepy and he smiled, but said nothing, as he got into bed with her.

When she curled up against him, he put his arms around her and held her. He could only hope for her sake that she would sleep dreamlessly, but if she didn't, he would be here.

 

*****

 

Willow's sleep hadn't been nearly as restful as he'd hoped. Nightmares had plagued her and he'd roused her several times to break the hold her terror had on her dreams, but at last she'd had two hours or so of uninterrupted slumber. It would have to serve. There were plans that needed to be made. The Initiative and its Frankenstein were still active and that meant Angel and the rest of the crew had to be as well.

"Would you like a bath this morning?" he suggested. "I have a huge tub here. Spa jets and everything."

She raised an eyebrow before grabbing him in a hug. "Thank you," she said.

He said nothing, merely searched the bathroom for towels and soap while she rummaged through the bag Xander had hastily packed for some clothes. Luckily, they both found what they were seeking.

He was about to leave the room before she disrobed, wanting to give her privacy, when she called him back. "Wanna keep me company?" she asked shyly. The trust those words conveyed was a treasure to Angel. After everything she'd been through, he wouldn't have blamed her for needing a great deal more space right now.

"Okay," he said. She ran a bath and the tub filled fairly quickly. Angelus had always been one for creature comforts…hell, if he was honest, Angel liked them too, even if he hadn't always allowed himself to indulge his tastes.

They didn't talk. There'd be enough talk downstairs and sometimes even Willow liked silence. She disrobed, a bit hesitantly, but she did and she got into the tub. She didn't luxuriate in the hot water, simply scrubbed herself. Angel didn't stare, though he watched her out of the corner of his eye, making sure she was alright.

Within a minute or two, she got out, dried herself efficiently, and got dressed. "I'm gonna be okay," she said as they headed for the door.

"I know," he answered, and it was the truth. She _was_ going to be okay. She was brave and strong and the Initiative was no match for her. "I better go put something on. Then we have to figure out how to feed you and Xander and Cordelia and…"

"Oh my gosh! And what about blood for you and Spike?"

"That, too."

Angel dressed in a hurry, a bit unhappy about the rumpled state of his clothes, though he could hardly blame Xander for packing hastily. If only an iron had been among the things left behind, he sighed.

These were, however, serious times, and his fussy sartorial habits were not worth worrying about right now.

They made their way downstairs, where everyone else was already milling about, though thankfully there was no bickering. It seemed as though the situation had everyone behaving in a somewhat adult fashion.

"Morning, sire. Red." Spike was the first one to notice their entrance. He was looking at Willow cautiously, his concern obvious. Angel found it rather touching. Family…

"Hey, Spike. Good morning, everybody." Willow plastered a cheery grin on her face and went about the work of being the perky optimist everyone knew…that everyone needed. Angel was just glad she had _him_ for those times when she just couldn't be that.

"We're hungry," Anya said.

"An," Xander chided her.

"What? It's not like your stomach hasn't growled annoyingly. We're all hungry and there's no food."

As much as he loathed Anya, Angel couldn't argue with her. The humans in the house _did_ need to eat. And since one of those humans was his lover, he thought the acquisition of food was an urgent matter worth attending. "Xander, can you take Willow's car and go pick up some supplies? Stop at Willie's while you're at it, too?"

"I get to drive Willow's Mercedes again?" Xander's eyes lit up. Angel almost chuckled.

"That's _Willow's_ car? You told me it was Angel's." Anya was peevish again. Great.

"Angel bought it, so it's really his car." Willow attempted to mollify Xander's trollop.

"But he gave it to you."

"It's pretty much a company car kind of thing."

Xander shot Anya a look and she let it go. It was possible she was mindful of Cordelia and realized that arguing with her boyfriend's best friend didn't help her in a highly competitive market. Angel was still wondering what would make two women compete for Xander Harris, but he would have to save that puzzle for another day's solving.

Xander still had Willow's keys and was about to leave, when Angel stopped him. "Here," he said, taking out his wallet and pulling out three crisp bills, "This should cover the food and the blood." The boy took the money gratefully and headed towards the door.

"Don't forget Wheetabix," Spike called out.

"I'll go with you," Anya said. "You could use my help."

No one agreed, but no one argued either and the twosome departed, leaving the rest of them to start discussing what needed doing.

"You know, there's kind of one good thing about yesterday," Willow said, out of the blue.

"What?" Cordelia was the first to ask, though they were all thinking it. What on Earth could be good about what had happened.

"Well, I kind of have a better idea of how they think, and that could come in handy what with fighting Adam and taking them down and stuff."

He put his arm around her and pulled her to him. He'd almost underestimated her. Yes, she was the vulnerable girl who needed him, but she also really _was_ the plucky optimist he saw before him right now, the girl who always saw the light at the end of the tunnel and who always knew it couldn't possibly be a train.

"You have a point," Oz said. "We at least know that they don't really know much about demons. That could come in handy."

Spike snorted. "I could have told you that."

"Spike," Willow interposed, "you were there quite awhile back. The fact that after all this time, they still haven't learned anything, shows that they're linear thinkers who refuse to believe in other intelligent life forms and who interpret everything through a very narrow paradigm. That's a crucial thing to know. It's a weakness and we can use it."

"Yeah, well, you could be right there," Spike conceded grudgingly.

"She not only could be - she is. I could see it last night. They thought I was dumb muscle. They were shocked when I gave orders. Guaranteed they have reinterpreted everything to see Buffy as the one in charge. They see demons as a lower form of life. Likely, that's how they justify experimenting on them and how the late Maggie Walsh came up with the idea that she could make a demon hybrid and keep it completely under her control."

"Makes sense," Oz said, though he was pensive. It was obvious that being seen as a dumb animal really hurt him. That made sense given the feral nature of his demon and his extreme discomfort with that. Angel felt for the wolf.

"Does this give you any ideas about how to hack into the system?" Cordelia asked.

"Actually it does. But I want to call Wesley…oh, and Giles…before I get started. Did you charge your cell phone, Cordy? I forgot about mine."

"Sure thing. I plugged in the laptops, too," Cordelia said before racing off to get her cell phone, the grin she wore showing how glad she was to be useful. Angel had to admit he was happy she'd thought of that. Of course, he was even happier that he himself had thought to keep paying the utilities here…how had he known he'd need to stay here again someday?

Cordelia was back with the phone in a flash and the others sat quietly, listening as Willow made her calls. They were all hungry and having a hard time thinking anymore. Angel hoped Xander got back soon.

Tbc…


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amid shifting loyalties, the gang works on a plan to take out Adam.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Ten)

 

Fortunately, Xander had made it back to the mansion in record time, though sadly without the Wheetabix Spike had requested. His explanation that it could only be found at a specialty store did little to mollify Angel's annoyed childe, but at least he'd brought food for everyone else, including a goodly supply of blood from Willie's. It had been awhile since Angel had tasted human blood that wasn't Willow's, but in a situation like this, he wasn't going to be holier-than-thou and insist on animal blood. He couldn't be sure, after all, that the butcher wasn't an informant for either Adam or the Initiative. Willie, on the other hand, was too much of a weasel to go up against Angelus or the Slayer.

Willow was almost scarfing down a blueberry muffin. Xander _had_ remembered things like bacon and eggs, but no one was patient enough to wait for food that required preparation, instead ravenously devouring the muffins and doughnuts he had also bought.

Oz looked pensive as he ate his jelly doughnut, though, and it occurred to Angel that, while Willow had spent the night cradled in the arms of someone who loved her, the wolf had been all alone with his nightmares. Shaking his head at the irony of what he was doing, he walked over to where Oz was sitting slightly apart from the others.

"Hey," he said. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Oz replied, though the tone of his voice said quite the opposite.

"Willow told me about what happened there."

"It was pretty bad," Oz said.

"Yes, it was. I…thanks."

"For what?" Oz was more surprised than Angel.

"For not giving in. A lot of demons would have and you didn't, so…" Impulsively, he held his hand out to Oz, who took it. "I mean it. Thank you."

"It's nothing."

"It's everything."

The handshake ended and there was companionable quiet for a moment or two.

"Thanks," Oz said.

Angel nodded and walked back to where Willow and Xander were having an animated argument about someone called…_Little Debbie_?

"I can't believe you like that crap, Xander!"

"I'm not saying it's as good as Hostess, but when you're on a budget…"

"You should go hungry first! Little Debbie tastes like cardboard."

Huh?

Willow turned and saw that he was there and pleaded with him. "Angel, tell Xander that Little Debbie is rancid and inedible."

Angel felt like a deer caught in the headlights. What in the heck were they talking about? "I…umm…"

"I'm thinking Deadboy isn't too familiar with snack food, Wills."

Oh, so _that's_ what they were arguing about. And now it suddenly made sense.

The fact that Willow was having a silly disagreement like this with her best friend made Angel smile. She was bouncing back nicely. He looked back at Oz, who seemed less weighed-down than before. Both of them were on the mend. Angel might not be much with regular humans, but at least he was good with witches and werewolves…most importantly with witches. He pulled Willow to her feet and hugged her. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she said. "Even though you didn't back me up."

He held her close, enjoying her warmth and the sunshine of her smile as she looked up at him.

"Any doughnuts left for a hungry Slayer?"

Oh great. Buffy was here. She'd better not have brought that sadist of hers. He held tight to Willow, even as he turned his head to see just who all had burst in.

"Willow and Angel aren't having sex," Anya said immediately.

"I…uh…didn't think they were." Buffy looked and sounded very confused.

"Well that's good, because they aren't." Anya shot a glance at Xander, who was obviously tamping down an enormous amount of annoyance. Cordelia probably looked pretty good at this moment.

Willow slowly disengaged from Angel's arms, trying to be very inconspicuous about it. Angel didn't have the heart – or inclination – to tell her she looked guilty as hell. Maybe it was finally time for Buffy to learn the truth. After all, how much of an ally could she really be, sleeping with the enemy as she was?

"How'd you figure out where we were, Buff?" Xander said, by way of distraction.

"It wasn't too hard. I mean, where else would you go?" Buffy was staring at Angel and Willow, her brow slightly furrowed. "How are you, Willow?"

"She's holding up well, under the circumstances," Angel answered for her.

"What do you mean?"

This time it was Oz who answered, getting up and walking towards the rest of them. "Your boyfriend's buddies thought it would be cool to try and force me to rape her."

"Oh my god!"

"Nice taste in men you have there, Buffy," Cordelia sniped. She and Xander and Oz and Spike were all gathered close to Willow and Angel now. Angel couldn't have been more gratified by the way their loyalty was being displayed.

"But you didn't…did you?" Buffy ignored Cordelia.

"No, Buffy, he didn't. But I think the point you're missing here is that Willow and Oz were stripped and abused and victimized by your boyfriend's little commando playmates and that's bad enough." Thank you, Xander Harris. While it hurt to see the haunted look return to Willow's eyes, Angel was grateful that her friend understood the magnitude of what had happened and was more than willing to stand up for her.

"I know. But at least…"

"At least what, Buffy? At least we got there in time to keep Riley's team from watching a live sex show starring someone you _claim_ is your friend? Gosh, I'm sure that just makes all the rest of it go away. I, for one, didn't hear Willow or Oz wake up screaming even once last night."

"Cordy," Willow chided.

"What? Tell me you are not expecting me to be tactful with Miss High and Mighty Selfish One. Because that is so not going to happen."

Willow stared into his face, but Angel wasn't going to insist on tact from his seer either. Frankly, he was glad for both her and Xander's frankness right now.

"Hate to say it, Red, but I'm on Madame Zelda's side here. The Slayer has never been one to think that anyone but her has ever suffered and it's about time she learned that what happens to other people matters, too." Angle stifled a grin. Spike was always good at getting to the point.

"What's going on here?" Buffy asked, clearly upset at having been rounded on by all and sundry.

"Nothing, Buffy. We're all just tired." Willow attempted to mollify her friend and to bring down the level of vitriol in the conversation, but Angel and the others were not on that page.

"I can't believe you," Angel hissed. "You really think this is all about you?"

"Is this about me and Riley?" Buffy asked, completely and utterly clueless. "Angel, I…"

"Oh bugger it," Spike groused and Angel got a very nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. "He's moved on, Slayer. He doesn't give a damn who you wrap those short legs of yours around these days." Everyone was staring and Spike feigned utter innocence. "What? Harris figured it out, for hell's sake. 'Bout time the slow-witted bimbo here was brought up to speed."

"What do you mean?" Buffy's voice held as much fear as he'd ever heard from her before. Angel refused to hate himself for enjoying it.

"Willow and Angel _are_ having sex." Why was Angel so completely _un_surprised to hear Anya's grating voice?

"An!" Xander cried.

"What? I figured since Spike started it that it was okay for me to tell the truth now." Anya turned back to Buffy. "I was lying before."

"I think she figured that out," Spike said. "Though it probably was a good idea for you to spell it out, seeing how challenged she is."

"Spike!" Willow was clearly very upset.

"Angel?" Buffy's voice was pleading and choked. "Is this true?"

Angel wasn't the slightest bit moved. "Yes, it is. I wanted to tell you before, but it never seemed like a good time."

"Buffy, I'm sorry…I…" Willow's eyes were filling with tears. Angel put his arm around her. He was not going to let her bear the burden of this.

"How long?" Buffy's voice was cold and Angel was angry. She had more raw nerve…she still thought of him as her property. Her pet vampire who was supposed to brood and pine over her forever while she went on her merry way and had a new love and a life of her own. He wasn't sure he could control himself if he spoke, so he stayed silent.

"Why do you care, Buffy? It's not like you haven't moved on." Xander to the rescue again. Angel had a disturbing desire to offer the boy a job.

"What do you mean, why do I care?"

"Oh don't worry. He can't lose his soul with Willow," Anya chimed in, apparently trying to be helpful, though with her, who could tell?

Buffy's eyes were as wide as could be now and she looked as if she'd been horribly betrayed. Again, Angel was disgusted. She reeked of her quasi-human soldier boy, but heaven forbid that Angel have the right to be with someone himself. This couldn't be the girl he'd once loved, could it? "Is that true?"

"Yes. " Angel's tone was clipped. He still didn't trust himself, but he wasn't going to let Willow get dragged into this any more than absolutely necessary. This was, as far as he was concerned, a matter between him and Buffy. "I went to the Oracles and they said I can't lose my soul with her."

"The Oracles?"

"Yeah, the Oracles. They work for the Powers that Be." Cordelia couldn't be expected to keep silent forever. "They're the ones who told us what we already knew – Angel and Willow are soulmates."

While that last part played a bit fast and loose with the timeline of realizations and with the exact words of said Oracles, Angel was hardly inclined to correct her recitation. Every now and then, her relentless lack of tact and her projection of herself and her issues into every conflict were downright endearing. After this was all over, he figured a new pair of shoes would definitely be coming to her.

Buffy looked as if she would collapse if only she could figure out which way down was. Willow wanted to go to her, but Angel held her back. Buffy was not an injured party and he refused to allow Willow to coddle her.

"Yeah, Slayer. Looks like you're second best. Not that we didn't already know that."

While Angel didn't favour the kindest approach, Spike was carrying it a bit too far. "Stay out of this," he admonished his childe.

Spike held his hands up in melodramatic fashion. William would never change.

"Buffy, I…" Willow refused to stay out of the fray.

"I don't want to hear it. How could you do this to me?"

Just as Angel was about to let Buffy have it with both barrels, Xander stepped in. "What in the heck does any of this have to do with you? Last I heard, you and Angel were not a couple. You broke up quite awhile ago. You've moved on, not once, but twice." Buffy winced and Angel was curious. He knew about Riley, of course, but…had there been someone else as well? Obviously not a long-term someone, that was for sure. Spike's snicker confirmed that fact…and that it might not have been Buffy's choice that it was such a brief relationship.

Xander, however, wasn't finished. "Look, I know it's not what you expected – it's not what I expected either - but Willow and Angel fell in love and it has nothing whatsoever to do with you."

"Xander…"

"No, Will, let me finish here. Buffy needs to deal with this."

"No, what I need is to be out of here, away from this." And with that, Buffy turned and nearly ran out the door.

"Buffy!" Willow called after her. She would have run, but Angel held fast to her arm.

"Let her go."

"But she's hurting and it's my fault and…" She struggled, but he held her fast.

"Your fault for what? Do you regret…?" Angel couldn't bear to finish that question.

She stopped trying to get away and looked into his eyes. "No, of course not. It's just…"

"I know. But there was never going to be a time when she was going to be okay with this. I think it's just as well that it's out in the open now. After all, we can fight Adam without her. We've got a pretty good team here."

"Damn right we do," Spike said.

"Yeah, we do." Oz's voice was soft, but Angel was glad to hear he was on board. He had a feeling that, when it all came down to it, Oz would be a fierce fighter.

"Now that we're down one Slayer, though, we're a bit short on the folks with super powers." Xander sounded a bit unsure.

"I just wish I was a little better with magick," Willow sighed.

"You're plenty good, Red."

"Yeah, so good that you guys had to come rescue me and Oz."

Angel pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "There are limits to magick, Willow, especially when you're new at it. You've come so far in such a short time, though. Wesley says he's never seen anyone with so much natural ability." He hated how small and helpless she felt right now.

"It's not your fault, Willow." Oz again. "None of it." There was a great deal of meaning in the wolf's words and they were all mindful of it. He was reminding her that Buffy's opinion wasn't shared by every ex-lover in the mix.

"Buffy's my friend. I don't want to lose her."

"I don't either, Will, but she needs to grow up. Angel isn't her boyfriend anymore. It's not like you stole him from her or anything."

"No, this is nothing like what you did with Xander." Anya always managed to say the wrong thing.

"Hey! The only person in this room who has a right to bring that up is me," Cordelia interjected. "And since I'm not angry about it anymore, I think everyone should just shut up about it. And by everyone, I mean ex-vengeance demons who conjure up creatures from bizarro world and almost get me killed."

Xander said nothing and looked utterly torn. Unfortunately, staying out of it was not an option for him.

"What kind of boyfriend are you?" Anya complained. "You're supposed to be defending me."

"An, I…" His voice trailed off; he obviously had no idea what to say.

Luckily, Spike did. "As entertaining as watching you two lovebirds have a tiff might be, I think we need to focus on the task at hand: Fighting Adam and shutting down the Initiative without a Slayer or an inside man." Angel nearly fainted at the spectacle of his childe playing peacemaker, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Spike's right," Cordelia said, though her pain at saying so showed clearly on her face.

Everyone else contented themselves with nodding.

"Is anyone else still hungry?" Xander asked.

Some chuckling followed, but also much agreement. All the stress was enough to make them all ravenous. Angel himself could stand some more blood. "Why don't I make some scrambled eggs for everybody?"

"I'll make the bacon," Willow chimed in. Oz stared. "I'm not so much with keeping kosher these days, what with being Wicca and all."

"Eggs and bacon it shall be. Let's go to the kitchen." Angel took Willow's hand.

"Bacon and eggs better be the only thing you guys make in there," Cordelia admonished. "Because if I walk in on the two of you with the…"

"Cordy!" Willow was blushing beet red now. "We don't need to talk about that."

Angel grinned. Other than being interrupted by his nosy seer, that particular memory was a very fond one. Who knew a spatula had so many intriguing uses? And then there had been the whisk…and the basting brush…not to mention the tongs…

Best to get his mind back on less arousing topics. As much fun as it would be to baptize the mansion's kitchen, he and Willow really needed to stick to the most prosaic sort of cooking. Besides, he was pretty sure she wasn't yet ready for adventurous lovemaking after everything she'd been through.

Mindful that Anya was about to ask a question, Angel hustled Willow out of the room. _Thinking_ about sex in a room full of other people was one thing, but that demon wench of Xander's was never going to learn that talking about it in explicit detail was inappropriate in the company of anyone but one's significant other, and _only_ one's significant other.

As they departed, he could already hear Anya loudly grumbling because Cordelia would not give her any details about what she'd walked in on in the kitchen that day. Thank heavens. There had been a time when he'd thought Cordelia was the epitome of tactlessness, but now he realized she could be so much worse…she could be Anya.

Willow seemed pensive as she looked around trying to find a pan. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asked.

"I'm just…I love you and I don't regret us at all, but…hurting Buffy…it hurts, you know? I want her to be okay with us. I want her not to hate me."

Angel went to the right cupboard and found the pan she needed, handing it to Willow, then he put his arm around her. "She'll come around." He hoped he sounded more confident of that than he felt. Frankly, he wasn't at all sure Buffy was mature enough to put her silly schoolgirl dreams aside and accept that she and Angel had never been meant to be. He could only hope that her friendship with Willow truly meant something to her, enough so that it could overcome her hurt pride.

Willow said nothing, merely shrugging and heading to the stove with her pan. Angel's heart nearly broke. The cooking wasn't nearly as much fun as it had been in L.A.

 

*****

 

"Wesley…I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but isn't it a little weird that you just 'presto' found yourself with access to all the super secret files and got all the inside scoop without even hardly trying?" Angel watched Willow wince even as she said the words; he knew how much she hated to make Wesley feel inadequate. He wondered just what had happened, though he knew Willow would share as soon as she got off the phone. She'd been busily scribbling notes since the call had come in.

There was silence from her for a few seconds and then, "Oh I know you knew something was up. Sorry. I've just been kind of tense. Buffy sort of found out about…" Another pause. "Thanks. And thanks for all the info. No matter where it came from, I know we can use it. You've been a huge help. Really." Her voice was high and chirpy on the last word, obviously trying to salve the newest team member's wounded feelings. "Bye. We'll see you soon."

Just as she was getting off the phone, Xander called out, "Hey, Giles. Welcome to the party. We were kind of expecting you sooner."

"Thank you, Xander," Giles replied in rather annoyed tone as he entered the mansion. "I would have been here earlier but I was on the phone with some old contacts trying to see if anyone had any new information. And then I had a visit from Buffy."

"Oh." Willow sounded crestfallen. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, well, I don't know if 'okay' is a word I'd use to describe her. I know that she's not any fonder of me than of you at present. I'm afraid she deduced that I knew about your relationship with Angel quite some time ago."

"Yeah, well, about time to cut the apron strings anyway. You haven't been paid to babysit the stupid bint for years now. I don't know why you keep bothering with it." Spike was always so sentimental.

"And again I find myself agreeing with him. I feel defiled," Cordelia muttered as Xander patted her arm consolingly. Anya fumed at the gesture, and Angel wondered if steam was actually going to come out of her ears. That might be fun to watch.

"What did Wesley have to say?" Oz asked.

"Oh. He said he decided to try getting into the Initiative files himself this morning and he somehow got into the Project 314 files and…well, most of what he said, we already know, but there was some stuff there about building an army of demon/human hybrids and some other stuff about unusually high numbers of demons being captured and…"

"I can see why you're suspicious. _Wesley_ got in when you couldn't?" Xander uttered in disbelief.

No one was going to argue with that, not even Willow. It made no sense unless…

"Seems like Frankenstein wants us to know all the good stuff." Spike wasn't wrong there.

"I kind of thought the same thing."

"Yes, well, that's a reasonable assumption. But why…?"

"Luring us into a trap? It's a time-honoured evil villain move," Oz interrupted Giles.

"It's something I would have done," Anya offered. No one cared.

"I'm thinking Oz is right. And as someone who's been through that before, can I say it's so sophomore year?" Xander didn't elaborate further, but Angel knew what he meant and he was surprised the boy referenced that incident at all. He hadn't thought Xander would ever want to remember that praying mantis teacher.

"The question is what do we do? I mean, we know Adam's like super-strong, not even Buffy can fight him, and he's pretty much invulnerable thanks to being a lab-created creature. I mean, he's worse than Ted. We'd need a really _super_ super-powered being to fight him. I don't think even you are a match for him and you're pretty super." That last was addressed to Angel, but she hadn't needed to mollify him. She was right. Adam was unbelievably strong. Everything they'd learned up to now had told them that and it was no insult to be honest at a time like this. Even as a team, the weakness of their individual components was a significant handicap.

"It's too bad we can't make a Frankenstein of our own, you know? Put Angel's strength and Oz's strength together with Willow's Wiccan-y mojo and create our own super-powered good guy."

Cordelia's suggestion was met with scornful laughter from Anya and Spike and curious looks from everyone else, but a light bulb seemed to go on over Giles's head. It dimmed just as quickly, however.

"What?" Angel asked him. "Did you think of something?"

"Yes, and it would have been an excellent idea – exactly suited to our present circumstances but for one small thing."

"And that would be?" Spike asked.

"We don't have the key ingredient."

"Well what's the key ingredient?" Xander sounded very impatient and Angel couldn't blame him.

"Well, to serve as the focus, the person in whom all the elements would combine…we would need a Slayer."

"And wouldn't you know? There's one just lying around, waiting for something to do," came a voice from the doorway.

"Buffy!" Willow squealed.

Angel and Buffy locked eyes for a moment, an unspoken understanding being reached. There'd be time to hash out all their personal drama when this was over, but right now, Buffy was the Slayer, not a teenage girl, and she was here to do her job. It felt good to respect her again.

"So, Giles, what do we need to do?"

Tbc…


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes after Adam and the Initiative.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Eleven)

 

He stood, eyes hooded as he watched the group gathered at the other end of the room. At first he, like Spike and Oz, had been angry and almost insulted that they couldn't be part of the spell, that the 'pure' energy required meant that demons could not be part of it, that _Cordelia_ – of all people – could contribute to it while they could not, but that feeling had passed. Now Angel was coming to think that maybe this was all for the best.

"So we distract them, that's the plan?" Oz's voice took his focus back from where it had been.

"Yes," Angel replied cautiously, not certain if Oz could be trusted with the rest of what he had in mind. Oh sure, they would go in and draw the attention of the soldiers, let Willow and Buffy and the others get in to set up and do the spell so that Buffy could fight Adam, but there was more to it than that…much more.

It was all about meting out justice.

Buffy and Giles would never understand or approve; they'd spout platitudes about the sacredness of human life, as if the Initiative soldiers hadn't willingly signed away the souls of which vampires were robbed. They were no more human than a Chaos demon, and they were far more dangerous and evil. They had brutalized Oz, mutilated Spike…

They had degraded his lover, fully intending to see her raped right before their eyes.

No, there was no power in the universe that could stop him from making them pay.

"Are we gonna take them out?" Oz's question was a stunner. Even Spike had to fight to keep his shock from showing on his face.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked cautiously.

"Well we're not just gonna be the diversion, right?"

"No," Spike replied, obviously not believing that discretion was the better part of valour.

"Good. I was kind of hoping we'd be getting some revenge." Oz's eyes were colder than Angel had ever seen them.

Spike chuckled softly and put a companionable arm around Oz. "Keep this up and you might make a proper demon yet, wolf."

"Why do I have the disturbing desire to take that as a compliment?"

Angel fought the urge to smile and he raised his eyebrow at Spike, who took the hint and removed his arm from around Oz before the others noticed. The last they thing they needed was for anyone to realize that something besides three disgruntled men planning to divert the Initiative's attention was going on at their end of the room.

"We can't share this with the others," Angel cautioned.

"I kinda figured that," Oz said. Was that sarcasm? With the wolf, it was always hard to tell.

"Red might be a bit squeamish about it, even when it's done," Spike warned.

 

"She'll understand." Angel wished he was certain of that. While he'd been the one who held her through the nightmares, he was also the one who knew best just how soft-hearted his lover could be.

Oz looked haunted for a second or two, before he shook it off. "She loves you. She'll be okay with it," he reassured Angel, who thought about how much it must pain Oz to say that. The fact that the boy still loved Willow was readily apparent.

"Of course, that's assuming we all make it out of there in one piece." Spike's pessimism was a shocking jolt. His childe was usually the breeziest and least worried of them all, even with the chip. This was just one more reason to raze the whole damn installation. Seeing this kind of fear in Spike was painful.

"We will," Angel asserted, this time with complete confidence.

Sadly, what he had no confidence in was getting that chip out of Spike's head. Chances were almost nonexistent that they'd be able to find someone they could trust to undo the damage, even if they could get accurate information on just what and where it was in Spike's brain.

Spike knew that, too, Angel could see it in his eyes. It hurt.

Funny how, after all these years, after all the times they had fought and even tried to kill each other, he stood here with Spike as friend, as ally, as _family_, as everything he'd never been until that chip had been placed in his head – and yet he wished he could undo what had been done.

There was no time to ponder the irony as Cordelia collapsed to the floor. Another vision. Angel and his companions hurried over.

Willow had Cordelia's head cradled in her lap as Xander rushed to fetch a glass of water. Anya was silently fuming. Angel had to enjoy the fact that not only was the coarse and tasteless creature not even going to be a part of the night's events – as an ex-demon, she was useless on all counts – but she had to stand by and watch her boyfriend fuss over another woman. Angel might not be able to loathe Xander anymore, but he could still despise Anya and he was going to revel in her misery to the fullest extent. It was a welcome _divertissement_ from the more intense and powerful hatred he felt for the Initiative and its members.

"What did you see this time, Jackie Stallone?" Spike was as respectful of Cordelia's gift as ever.

She glared at him groggily while Willow muttered the healing spell that was practically second nature to her now. "It was important. Buffy, Adam's not alone. I saw a bunch of freaky-looking creatures. One of them was the one I think is Walsh. Another one is a black guy – he's good-looking, too, except for all the weird, Frankenstein stuff."

"Forrest," Buffy said softly.

"Oh my God," Willow said, obviously recognizing the name.

"He was killed today. By Adam. Guess he didn't stay dead."

"Wanker's a copycat. Vampires have been doin' that for centuries. But we look a hell of a lot better than the freaks Adam turns out." Spike preened almost unconsciously as he spoke and Angel smiled. It was good to see Spike regaining his sense of superiority.

"Be that as it may, this does complicate matters." Giles looked concerned.

"Riley was there, too," Cordelia added. "And he seemed to be under Adam's control."

"Did I say complicate? How foolishly optimistic of me."

Buffy was shattered. Her eyes were wounds and Angel was worried. All the spells in the world couldn't prop up a Slayer who'd lost her will to fight.

"It's a chip, Buffy, it has to be." Willow turned to Angel. "We have to tell her."

"Tell me what?" Buffy asked.

Angel nodded and Willow explained. "Riley's not quite completely human…or something. Angel and Spike both noticed something off about the way he smells."

"Angel said he thought it might be a chip," Xander chimed in.

"You knew about this?" Buffy and Anya in stereo.

"I think the important thing is that Riley might have a chip. Can we save the wounded feelings for a later date?" Oz was a blessed, and uncharacteristically verbose, voice of reason.

"You're right," Buffy admitted. "And this is all important stuff to know. Thanks, Angel."

"Hey! Who had the vision?"

"Thanks, Cordelia," Buffy added, half-grimacing and half-smirking as she said it.

"You're welcome," huffed the rather annoyed seer.

"Well, it's a good thing I'll have all kinds of magical mojo at my disposal when I go up against all these guys." Buffy was trying hard to be the plucky, devil-may-care Slayer she'd been once. It was almost convincing.

"We'll be with you in spirit," Willow said. "And hey, this time we really _will_ be." She grinned and Angel found himself grinning too. She had a way of drawing him into her moods.

"Yes, well, now that we're all up to date with the latest information, might I suggest we coordinate our plans?" Giles had a point.

Everyone gathered round and began to talk. The operation was taking shape. Hopefully, he'd get a chance to finalize things with Spike and Oz before they had to go in. But if not…they were demons, they'd adapt.

He focused on listening to what Giles and Buffy were saying. They, after all, were the ones in whose hands lay Willow's safety. While he was by no means happy to have to let her do this, he knew it needed to be this way. As the plan of attack took shape, Angel grew more confident of winning.

 

*****

 

Night had fallen at last and now here they were, off to do battle with Adam and with the Initiative. Angel held Willow's hand as they walked. Every now and then, Buffy would turn and look, but she refrained from any dramatic expressions of disapproval. She was the Slayer – focused and dedicated – and that was all to the good.

Cordelia and Xander were off to the side; every now and then a voice would rise and it was easy to see they were bickering. Willow nodded ruefully the third time. "I'm guessing this isn't a one-sided thing anymore. That's just like how they acted back in high school." What they were sniping about was anyone's guess; it wasn't as if Angel had eavesdropped on them in the past few days. He had faith, though, that they wouldn't allow their rather obnoxious brand of chemistry to get in the way of the mission; that was what mattered – that and the front row seat he was ashamed to admit he wanted for Xander's possible break-up with Anya.

The frat house was in sight and they all stopped for a moment – gathering their thoughts and getting their courage up, for the most part. Angel held Willow tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said. "Don't do anything stupid. I don't want you getting dusted because of me."

He was about to ask what she meant, but the look in her eyes told him that she was onto him. He should have known she'd figure out what he and Spike and Oz had in mind. Silence was the only answer he offered her because he was not going to lie to Willow – he and his companions were going to make those soldiers pay.

"So the plan is: we go in first and distract them while you guys go in and kick Adam's ass, right?" Oz asked, by way of getting the ball rolling.

"Yeah," Buffy answered.

"Let's do it, then. Better than standing around out here like a bunch of nancy boys all night." Spike had such an eloquent way of saying things. Oh well, it was better than his poetry.

The three demons exchanged a look and prepared to walk in. Before they could do so, Willow hugged Oz, then Spike, and then Angel. "Please," she said, her eyes brimming with tears, "be careful, okay? Promise me?"

"We'll be as careful as you will, Red," Spike answered. Willow glared at him, but said nothing more, and with that, they all entered the deserted fraternity house.

"I don't know about you, but I'm full of that good ol' kamikaze spirit."

"Xander, just because this is never going to work, there's no need to be negative." Giles was always such an optimist

"The enjoining spell isn't powerful enough to defeat Adam?" Willow sounded very worried and Angel felt much the same. What were they all getting into?

"It's very powerful. It's also extraordinarily dangerous."

"Game faces guys, we're going in." With that, Buffy kicked through a pane of glass and they were in the anteroom.

Before Angel could pry open the elevator doors, Buffy put her hand on his arm. "Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome," Spike interposed.

"You're welcome," Angel repeated.

"Let's do this," Oz said.

And with that, Angel opened the doors and the three began their descent down the elevator shaft. Angel and Spike could have jumped, but they elected to use ropes in deference to Oz. With any luck, they'd be met by soldiers at the bottom, they'd make enough of a commotion to alert the others up above, and three minutes later, Buffy and everyone else would climb down and head for the lab… as long as everything went the way it was supposed to go.

So far, so good. Right here at the bottom of the shaft, they were now face to face with a team of Initiative soldiers.

"You demons really aren't too bright, are you?" What do you know; the soldier who'd leered at Willow was right here. The universe was definitely on his side.

His opinion nearly changed when that same soldier pointed a taser at him and made ready to fire. He'd sort of counted on just being taken into custody. But then, a hand grabbed the soldier's arm and…

"Don't. The Colonel says he wants to speak to these hostiles."

The plan was working.

 

*****

 

Colonel McNamara wore a smug, superior expression that made Angel long to rip his face right off his skull. "So the Slayer sent you in to do a little recon, eh? She must be shaking in her boots these days, the way we've been rounding up all the demons. Pretty soon, she'll be out of a job."

"Oh, you think so?" Spike said, arms akimbo, looking Colonel McNamara over in an even haughtier fashion than the Colonel had done to him. "She's more of a man than you'll ever be."

"Watch your mouth, hostile," one of the soldiers snapped, before slapping Spike across the face.

Spike's eyes flashed gold, but he held his temper. It wasn't as if he could do anything anyway. Angel felt his humiliation keenly. He made a note of the man who'd struck him and added him to the list of soldiers who weren't going to make it through the battle

"Just so we're clear, you do realize you guys are being played, right?" Oz's tone was even. Only Angel and Spike could sense the fear he radiated.

"What do you mean?"

"He means that even you lot should have known something was up by the way demons are just falling into your lap the past few days."

Spike's mouth almost got him hit again, but fate intervened – or more accurately, the sudden absence of light did.

A soldier sitting at a monitor piped up, trying hard not to sound nervous. "Sir, the power grid's down. Back-up's not responding." Big surprise, Adam was making his move.

"We're locked in." A few seconds later, he added. "The containment area's been breached."

"Here we go, kids. It's party time," Spike muttered.

"Hostiles are loose."

"How many?" the Colonel asked.

"All of them."

"It's Adam," Angel said, not that it mattered. These bumblers weren't going to be getting near him. They'd be too busy getting ripped apart by angry demons…including the ones in this room. Angel's eyes shifted to the one he wanted first – the one who'd degraded his love. That one…Angel had something special in mind for him.

"You men follow me, we gotta take the armory now," the Colonel barked at the men behind him. "These hostiles are to be held here," he said, turning to the soldier Angel was most hoping he'd entrust with guarding them. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," the soldier said. Angel stifled a grin.

The Colonel and his band of demon food departed quickly, leaving Angel, Spike and Oz to be guarded by two men. How the hell had this organization gotten away with their folly for so long? They were clearly none too bright when it came to demons.

The one now in charge addressed Oz and smiled lecherously. "How's your little girlfriend?" Angel knew exactly what he was thinking.

"She's not my girlfriend, actually," Oz replied, calm as could be. "She's…"

"Mine," Angel said, as he grabbed the man too fast for him to fight back.

Spike threw the other one against a wall, then grabbed his head and sank to the floor. "Bloody hell," he yelled. But pain or no, he'd succeeded in rendering the second soldier unconscious.

Oz disarmed the fallen man as Angel toyed with the idea of playing with his food for the first time while having a soul. "You think it's fun…watching someone be invaded by a demon…helpless, agonized? Then you're gonna love what I'm about to do to you." The stench of the man's fear was overwhelming and his screams were music as Angel sank his fangs into his neck. He drained him almost to the brink of death and then…"Drink up, soldier boy." He fed the man the smallest amount of blood needed to bring him across. Tomorrow the creature who'd treated Willow so horribly would wake up a crazed minion, weak and helpless and ravenously hungry…trapped down here, turned into what he hated most and without any knowledge of how to fend for himself. He'd be dusted and damned soon enough.

Angel smiled with the features of his demon as he let the soldier's body fall to the floor.

"You know, for a bloke with a soul, you're quite a demon," Spike said, rubbing his temples slightly as he stared wistfully at the cooling body lying motionless before him. "Angelus couldn't match you."

Right now, that was as high a compliment as Angel could have hoped for, though he was sure there'd be some guilt later. For the moment, however, he allowed himself to enjoy Spike's praise before saying, "We better grab the rest of the weapons here and head out. We have to protect the entrance to the lab. Nothing can interrupt that spell."

"Right." Oz was armed, so Spike knelt down and grabbed the weapons off the dust-pile-to-be, stopping to quickly lick the man's neck first. "What?" he asked, when Angel glared at him. "You can't blame me for wanting a taste of the real thing. You could have left a bit more for me, by the way. When did you stop being a messy eater?"

Angel didn't bother saying anything. He was all business now…and all concern. They needed to get to that lab and guard it. He took a gun and the taser from Spike and they headed out.

 

*****

 

It hadn't been a clear run, but here they were. Spike had gotten in a few kicks and punches since the demons were as troublesome as the soldiers. The violence was mindless and the demons were killing each other, just as the soldiers were.

Something…the others were doing the spell now. Angel could tell. The power of the magick Willow was channeling was immense; he could actually feel it. He made a note to himself to tell Wesley about this when they got back. Willow was possibly stronger than any of them had realized.

They were alone for now and Oz spoke. "Angel, what you did back there…thanks."

"I did it for Willow," he said, the stress of the night making him blunt.

"I know. But thanks anyway." Oz held out his hand and Angel shook it.

"Let's get back to work, shall we?" Spike yelled as a demon chased two soldiers toward them. Angel pulled his gun and fired indiscriminately. Everyone, after all, was the enemy. More bodies poured down the corridor. Angel and Oz focused on the humans and let Spike enjoy dispatching the demons. Within moments, they'd cleared the hallway and then…

"It's over," Angel said as he felt the magick leave. "We won."

"How do you…"

"I'd know if she died."

"Oh. The claim." Oz's monotone didn't hide the sadness he felt. Angel was not only Willow's new lover, but he shared something with her that Oz never had and the reminder was a bit of a blow. Angel understood that, but by the same token, he wasn't going to hide the truth in any way. Better for Oz to face it all clearly – he'd move on that much faster.

"Handy that. One of the many perks of being a vampire," Spike chimed in. He was almost giddy, riding the cocaine-high he always seemed to get from violence. Angel still marveled at how a shy, gentle poet had turned into a devotee of blood and death and pain. What would Cecily have said had she known what lurked beneath William's surface?

Hearing some shuffling and movement behind the door to the lab, Angel opened it.

"Angel!" Willow cried happily. "You're alright!" She ran to him and hugged him just as Buffy came out from behind a door at the far end.

"Buffy!" Xander called out happily. "Looks like we all survived." Just as he spoke, Riley appeared. "And unfortunately one of the bad guys did, too."

"Xander," Buffy chided, "he saved my life."

"Well, goody. I, for one, have completely forgiven him for being one of the evil assholes who kidnapped Willow…oh wait, I haven't." Cordelia was getting more than one pair of shoes when this was all over.

"I didn't kidnap Willow," Riley argued.

"No, you're just part of the group that did it. You're just like those German guys who said they were only following orders."

"Cordy, I don't think Riley's a Nazi. He's right, he wasn't there. And hey, I do think he rates for helping Buffy. Plus, he's the only one of us who got injured." Willow was looking at the wound on Riley's chest. So was Spike, but for vastly different reasons.

"I did that to myself. Had to get the chip out."

"Would have been nice if you'd put _my_ chip somewhere convenient like that," Spike spat out.

"I'm sorry," Riley said.

"Fat lot of good your apology does me."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but as entertaining as all this is, have we forgotten that we still need to get out of this building alive?" Giles, as he often did, had a point.

"Right," Buffy agreed, then she turned to Willow, Cordelia, and Xander. "You guys get to the exits, get 'em open."

Spike immediately offered, "I'll go with them, make sure the demons leave 'em be." Angel was grateful.

"You," Buffy said to Riley, "organize the soldiers, pull 'em back. Angel and I will take point."

Oz and Giles both looked a bit bewildered about being left with no assignment, but Angel immediately stepped in with orders of his own. "Oz, you still got ammo?" The wolf nodded. "Good, you go with the others. Same goes for you, Giles." He pulled the taser from his belt. "Take this. The soldiers are shooting first and asking questions never. Don't hesitate to fire at anything that looks threatening, human or not." Giles nodded. There was a tinge of gratitude in his eyes for a moment; he was obviously pleased to be acknowledged as useful for something besides his ability to speak Sumerian.

"Let's get out of here," Buffy said, and with that, they were all out the door and into the thick of the fray.

Tbc…


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam and the Initiative have been defeated, but that doesn't mean the storm has passed. In the aftermath of the battle, the gang gathers at the mansion and unfinished business is dealt with at last.

Boats Against the Current (Chapter Twelve)

 

They'd all made it out alive and, for the most part, unscathed. Giles had somehow managed to sustain a minor head injury – that seemed to be the _leitmotif_ of his time in battle – but he hadn't been rendered unconscious, so it still went in the win column in terms of his personal victories, of that Angel was fairly sure.

Buffy had fought better than he'd ever seen her do before and it had impressed him, but his respect was uncoloured by nostalgia. Watching her had the opposite effect – it was one more thing that confirmed that they'd never been meant to be at all. She was even a better fighter without him around…and so was he. Being free to unleash his demon, as he was when he fought alongside Willow…it made a difference, a difference he had fully comprehended for the first time as he found himself having to restrain that side of himself with Buffy beside him.

He wandered into the kitchen. He and Spike could both use some blood. To his surprise, and not happily so, Buffy followed him.

"Hey," she said as he turned to face her. "Kinda like old times, wasn't it?"

"No," Angel said curtly, "it wasn't."

She was taken aback, but then again, so was Angel. She had more than a bit of nerve. He wondered if she even realized what she was doing. Probably not, he thought, and that was the only thing that saved her from getting slapped.

"I just meant…"

"I know what you meant, Buffy. The question is, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm in love with Willow."

"I know that."

"Are you sure? Because you don't sound like you do." Angel decided that now was the time to rip away the last of her illusions. Oddly, the fact that he'd respected her in battle was the reason he felt this was right. She was strong, and deep down, she had a pure heart. She could handle reality, even if it hurt. "I claimed her, Buffy. I claimed her the first time we made love."

Buffy gasped and stepped back. "You…you…but you have your soul."

Despite the fact that he'd always known, deep down, that she hadn't understood him, her words still shocked him. "What does that mean? Do you think having a soul means I'm not a vampire? Because I am, Buffy. Soul or not, I _am_ a vampire, a demon, and…"

"And Red likes him that way, at least if the moaning and screaming is any indication." Welcome to the party, Spike.

"That was more than I needed to know," Buffy grumbled under her breath.

"No, it isn't," Angel contradicted her. "Because you need to understand that what you and I had wasn't what you've deluded yourself into thinking it was. It was puppy love, Buffy. We weren't destined and it wasn't the love of a lifetime. It was a first love for both of us, but it's the kind of first love you grow from and move on from, not hang onto forever." He softened his tone as tears formed in her eyes. "I'll always care about you, and I don't regret what we had, but it's over now and it's time for you to see that, really _see_ that. Then you can be happy. Just like I am."

"If it helps, I never meant for this to happen," Willow said softly from the doorway. "It just kind of did."

Buffy turned around and faced her friend. "I know, Will. And hey, I can see where – working together every day – things can just..."

Spike coughed loudly, obviously stifling his laughter, as he put two bags of blood in the microwave. "Sorry, choked on something," he said when Angel glared at him.

Buffy turned around and looked at Angel before turning back to Willow. She knew. "I'm guessing now that Spike knows something I don't, or at least that I _didn't_."

"Yeah," Willow said softly. Angel beckoned to her and she came to him. She wasn't going to face Buffy alone in any way. Buffy turned back around.

The microwave dinged and Spike poured the bags into two mugs, handing one to Angel before heading back to the sidelines to watch the show. Angel drank a bit from his; he needed it.

"When did you guys…?"

"When did our relationship start?" Willow asked. "Umm…"

"It started when she came to Los Angeles looking for Oz."

"When did you do that?"

"December," Willow said softly.

"But that was when… Oh. Aunt Esther wasn't…" And Buffy finally got it. Angel had wondered if she ever would.

"No."

"'Bout time you figured it out, Slayer. Harris put the pieces together before you did."

"Spike," Willow chided.

"Sorry, Red." Someday, Angel was going to figure out how Willow could so easily get an apology out of Spike. It couldn't just be the family connection, since Angel couldn't manage it.

"I'm sorry I lied to you," Willow said. "I just…"

"I understand. It hurts. But I do understand." Buffy was sincere, Angel could see it in her eyes, and he was impressed with the maturity she was showing. All his hopes had been well-founded.

"I'm glad of that."

"Hey," Riley said as he walked in. "I was gettin' lonely out there."

"Maybe you should take the hint," Spike snapped, his eyes focused on the place on Riley's chest where a bandage lay beneath one of Xander's shirts – a bandage that symbolized a freedom Spike might never know again.

"Hi, honey," Buffy said, ignoring Spike and wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. While Angel could hardly be blamed for thinking little of her taste, he hoped the man made Buffy happy. If he was the one for her, so be it.

"So, what's going on?" Riley seemed aware that something was transpiring in the kitchen beyond a search for blood and food.

"I'm just making sure that Angel's taking care of my Wills," Buffy said, amping up her smile.

Riley looked at the two of them, seeming puzzled for a moment, before asking, "Willow? You mean you and Angel…?"

"Ha!" rang out from Spike. "I apologize, Slayer. Here I thought you were the biggest idiot in the bunch. Looks like Captain Cardboard has you beat in the brainless department."

This time there was no demand for an apology from Willow. She, like Angel, was intently focused on the expression of disgust Riley was failing to suppress. "Yeah, Riley – me and Angel. You got a problem with that?"

"No," he said, plastering that 'aw shucks' look Angel was already sick of on his face, "it's just…he's a vampire, Willow."

"No!" Willow stepped away from Angel in mock horror and he fought to keep from laughing. "Really? And here I thought he just had a really bad overbite." She rounded on Riley. "I know he's a vampire. I think we established several days ago that yes, he's a vampire, and that he's also been my friend for years now. He's saved my life, fought evil with me, and he's the man I love. If you have a problem with that, then feel free not to come over for dinner. We're not actually inviting you anyway."

"Will, he didn't mean it that way," Buffy said, trying to smooth things over.

"I take back my apology. You _are_ an idiot," Spike interjected. "Of course he meant it that way." Willow was about to say something, but Spike cut her off. "I'm not apologizing this time, pet. She may be your pal, but her boyfriend and his merry band of largely-deceased sadists mutilated me and wanted to watch you get raped. What part of that means he didn't look at you just now and see something subhuman?"

Willow said nothing. Angel wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

"I don't think you're subhuman, Willow. And contrary to what you may think, I wouldn't have let them do what they did to you if I'd been there…and not just because I know you." Riley had clearly anticipated what Angel was about to say at the end there. "But I don't think you've thought this through. He's a demon, and that means a lot of things you don't seem to understand. Look what happened with Oz."

Amazingly, it was Buffy who came to Willow and Angel's defense this time. "No," she said, pulling away from her boyfriend and glaring at him in a way he'd find frightening if he knew her well enough, "you're the one who doesn't understand. Willow understands. She understands demons and she understands Angel. And if this is the man Willow loves, we all have to respect her right to be with him, not treat her like a child or…anything." Buffy had obviously been about to say something that would have revealed her own past with Angel. "If we love Willow and we want to keep being her friends, then we have to accept that she and Angel love each other. And…I do." When he heard those words and saw Buffy coming near, Angel let go of Willow and let Buffy embrace her. "I do, Will," she whispered. "It's gonna take a while for me to get used to, but I do."

"I love you, Buffy," Willow said, her voice choked with emotion.

"I love you, too."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Spike said as he took his mug and slunk out of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," Riley said, addressing Angel this time. "But Willow is my friend and you can't expect me not to be concerned. You're a vampire and we all know what happened with Willow's last demon boyfriend."

Angel fought to keep from vamping out as both Willow and Buffy glared at Riley.

"Angel's not me." Oz's voice, calm and even, made them all turn to the doorway.

"Oz." Willow sounded concerned.

"Hey. Spike said the kitchen's where the action is right now. Gotta say I agree."

"Where are Xander and Cordelia?" Willow asked, her eyes filled with gratitude for the opportunity Oz afforded for changing the subject. Angel felt exactly the same way. Riley had gotten on his last nerve and…come to think of it, where _were_ Xander and Cordelia?

"I don't know. Xander was going to borrow Cordelia's cell phone to call Anya, but I haven't seen them since."

Was Angel the only one who had a sinking feeling right about now? No, Willow seemed to be somewhat stricken as well.

"I'm getting a wiggins," Buffy said. Seemed she was on the same page with them.

"You noticed?" Willow asked.

"That Cordy's been wearing belts instead of skirts and that you could _swim_ in the amount of drool Xander's been…drooling? Make that a big yes."

Angel, while enjoying the prospect of Anya's imminent heartbreak, wasn't quite sure how he felt. Yes, he was forced to acknowledge, he'd come around to actually liking Xander, but it was one thing to tolerate his company during a brief visit to Sunnydale, quite another if Xander were to accompany them back to L.A. Would his newfound acceptance of the boy hold up to prolonged propinquity?

He'd once believed vampires couldn't get migraines. He'd been mistaken on that score.

"It's a good thing Anya doesn't have her powers anymore," Willow said ruefully. Riley's eyes shot wide open, but thankfully, he kept his mouth shut.

"Xander would be toast," Buffy agreed.

Speak of the devil. "Hey guys, what have we been missing?" Xander sounded excessively chirpy as he entered, followed by an almost _too_ immaculately put-together Cordelia.

"The lipstick on your chin," Willow said. Huh? Angel didn't see any… Oh, but his love was evil. He grinned when Xander did his best to be furtive as he turned and wiped his actually-quite-clean chin.

"Xander," Cordy hissed, but it was too late.

"How's Anya?" Buffy asked, obviously competing with Willow for the title of Most Evil.

"She's…uh…I wasn't able to reach her."

"Kind of hard to talk with Cordy's tongue in your mouth, huh?"

"Buffy," Willow said, trying to sound stern and failing miserably, probably because she was giggling at the same time.

"Would you believe it was a spell fluke?" Everyone in the room stared at Xander and Cordelia punched him in the arm. "Ow! Alright. It wasn't a fluke and yes, there's been some rekindling going on and…"

"He's coming to Los Angeles with us," Cordy announced.

"I am?" Xander asked before caving under the weight of Cordelia's death glare. "I mean…I am." He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "I am."

Angel heaved a sigh. He knew he was expected to offer the boy a job right now, but he decided to be evil as well and let Cordy and her boyfriend sweat for a bit. Served them right. It wasn't as if Cordelia had even asked him before making this pronouncement.

"You're leaving?" Buffy said, her eyes filling with tears again. "But…but what am I gonna do without you?"

"Yes, Xander, are you quite sure about this?" And now the one person yet to be heard from filed into the kitchen: Giles. "And what about Anya? You do realize you're being rather unfair to her."

"Yeah, I mean, Sunnydale needs you, sport." Spike was back. "And you can't just go off to frolic with some trollop and abandon the little woman."

"Gosh, Spike, I never knew you were such a big fan of Anya." Xander sounded as if he felt Spike was something less than sincere, which was true, so good for Xander.

"Shows what you know. I'm all about the side of good and right. Which is why I can't condone you abandoning Sunnydale when the Slayer can't possibly defend it against the forces of darkness without you. And leaving poor Anya…tsk tsk. What have the good guys come to these days?" Spike did his best to look utterly guileless as he spoke. Of course, in truth, he looked a complete and utter clown. Even Riley was staring at him as if he were high on the PCP the late Principal Snyder once thought fueled this town.

"And it has nothing to do with the fact that you hate Xander…_and_ me, and would love to see us both miserable for all eternity?"

"Well…there _is_ that," Spike grudgingly conceded.

"He does have a point, though, Xander. How _am_ I going to get along without you?" Buffy's voice was soft and sniffly.

"Oh for god's sake, Buffy. He's moving to Los Angeles, not the moon. It's not like they don't have phones here in Nowheresville. He can call you. When he's not busy, that is."

"Busy doing what?" Oh good…Anya had obviously gotten tired of waiting for a phone call, because here she was. And he'd thought the battle was over. Oh well, it might be a dangerous show, but it was going to be fun to watch. Did Xander buy any popcorn?

"Cordelia," Spike piped up before anyone could stop him.

"What?!?!" Anya shrieked.

The look on Xander's face meant that denial was not an option. "This is not the way I wanted you to find out, An," he said, looking around for confirmation that he'd have some backup.

"So you really are having sex with her. Is it those skirts? Because I could wear skirts that short, too, you know."

"It's not the skirts, An. It's just…I guess I never really got over her. "

"You know, I'm starting to think it's not me who has the problem acting like a human."

"I know, An. I'm…I'm a jerk. I'm sorry. You deserve a lot better than me"

"I know I do. But I was willing to give you a chance anyway. I know I should have known better, because after all, your cheating is what brought me here. I guess I never thought you'd do it to _me_." Anya looked lost and sad. "I guess I really _am_ human, because I've made the classic stupid human mistake."

Much to Angel's surprise, Willow went to Anya and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Anya."

"You should be," Anya answered. "Because it's really your fault this happened. If you hadn't brought Cordelia here, then Xander and I would still be happy."

Angel wanted to step in, but Willow glared at him over Anya's shoulder and he held his tongue. Still, he was going to have a talk with his lover about her ridiculous level of compassion.

"I need to leave now," Anya said after a moment or two as she let go of Willow. "I have to get the things I have at Xander's. I expect you to stay away while I do that."

Xander nodded. "An," he said, reaching out for her.

She cut him off and stepped back. "Don't touch me. I need to be away from you. It's part of my healing process."

"Okay," Xander said.

"And don't give me that stupid line about still being friends. Because we were never friends."

"Okay," he said again.

"Good. I'm leaving now. Oh, and don't come crying to me when she can't give you as many orgasms as I did." And with that, Anya flounced out of the kitchen and out of the house.

"Well, that was nowhere near as exciting as it should have been. She must not have fancied you that much, Chubs." Again, Angel had to agree with Spike. He'd been hoping for a more vivid display of anguish from Anya.

"I feel really bad for her." Angel pulled Willow to him and kissed her forehead as she spoke. That talk needed to happen very soon. "You know, she really is hurting."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "I mean, I know I never really got along with her, but…"

There really wasn't much else to say, though even Cordelia looked a bit guilty at the moment. Why, Angel could hardly understand since she'd done exactly what she had set out to do.

"So you really are leaving us?" Giles had come back to the most important bit of business and seemed quite upset.

"Yeah," Xander said, his voice and manner uncharacteristically subdued. "Gosh, it seems weird to even think about it. I guess I never thought I'd do something like this. I mean, there was Oxnard, but that was youthful folly, and…"

Buffy grabbed Xander and hugged him tightly. "I'm gonna miss you so much. First Willow, now you…how am I going to live without you guys?"

Now it was Angel's turn to feel guilty as he watched the two embrace while Buffy shed copious tears. He was laying waste to her life, basically. _Angelus_ hadn't done as much damage as he'd managed to do, though Xander's departure was only indirectly his fault.

Still, it had been bound to happen sooner or later, he told himself. Teenagers grew up, moved on, discovered the world outside their childhood borders. Willow, especially, would have left Sunnydale at some point, that was for certain. The thought cheered him immensely. He hadn't caused any damage that time itself would not have caused in due course.

"Are you sure, Xander? I mean, you and Cordelia are kind of sudden and…" Riley decided to share his unwanted opinion.

"Excuse me? Sudden? I'll have you know that Xander and I got together in tenth grade! Sure, we broke up and all, but…"

Angel decided that it was time for him and Willow to have some alone time. Quietly, he guided her out of the kitchen. Frankly, he was now bored with the Cordelia and Xander show. He supposed he understood what everyone was upset about, but he didn't care nearly as deeply as they did and he wasn't going to pretend that he did. Anya repelled and annoyed him and he had no sympathy at all for her. She was miserable? Good. Now she'd get a taste of what she put everyone else through.

Spike, it seemed, had decided to make his escape as well.

"I can't believe you're letting the cheerleader bring that whelp to L.A."

"His name is Xander," Willow said, exasperated.

"Yeah, Xander, whatever. What matters is that she's foisting her gigolo off on us. No matter what, Peaches, you cannot give the boy a job. She wants him around to service her, fine, but she can bloody well keep him out of our way."

"You do realize that he's my best friend, right?"

Spike looked hurt and Willow picked up on it quickly. "Best human male friend, okay? I've known him since kindergarten. And I don't like it when you insult him like that. He could be a lot of help, you know. He comes up with great ideas when the chips are down."

Even Angel gave her a disbelieving look at that one and Willow grew indignant. "Remember The Judge? Who do you think thought of using the rocket launcher?"

That had been _Xander_? Really? Angel and Spike were both shocked, though Spike still had the presence of mind for a snide comeback. "That makes him one up on Evangeline Adams. She's _never_ much use. I say we fire her and hire the boy instead."

"Spike," Willow whined.

"Sorry, pet." He came over and kissed Willow's cheek. "I'm gonna go grab a bit of shut-eye. Anything to escape the nonsense in that kitchen. And if you two decide to shag, keep the volume down. My room is right next to yours."

With that, Spike was gone.

"I'm a little tired for that tonight, do you mind?" Willow said, her eyes conveying a good deal of concern.

Angel chuckled and held her tight. "I think I can survive." He kissed the top of her head. "I hate to admit it, but I think Spike might have had a pretty good idea. I think we could both use some rest."

"Yeah. That spell…wow. It was really intense, you know? The only spell I've ever done that was anything like it was when I restored your soul."

"Did it feel like that?" Angel couldn't help it; he had to admit being jealous of Willow sharing that level of intimacy with anyone else. The soul spell had been a powerful experience - he could still recall the feeling of her soul touching his - and he hated the thought of her friends having experienced it as well.

She was quick to reassure him. "No, it wasn't the same. It was weird, it was kind of…impersonal, you know? It was like parts of all of us were merged with Buffy, but not _me_. Does that make any sense?"

"Hey, guys," Oz's voice cut off the discussion and Angel loosened his hold on Willow.

"Can't take the heat?" Willow grinned, joking about Oz's exodus from the kitchen.

"Pretty much, yeah. It's kind of turned into an argument in there."

"Oh no," Willow looked up at Angel, obviously seeking permission to go in and smooth things over. She wasn't receiving it; he shook his head.

Her answering frown was adorable, but his mind wasn't changed.

"I'm gonna head out."

There was something in Oz's tone which told Angel that head out meant something more than just leaving the mansion. "Where are you going?"

"Not sure, really. Just gonna head to Devon's, get my stuff, see where the road takes me."

"You're 'leaving' leaving?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. Kinda seems like the right thing to do."

"But Oz, you just got here. I mean I know things kinda sucked and all, but…"

"Buffy could use your help," Angel said. "The way you handled yourself tonight…it was something." He decided not to mention in front of Willow the fact that he could smell the blood of the soldier who'd hit Spike on Oz's shirt, but he gave him a meaningful look and hoped his gratitude showed in his eyes.

"Not sure about keeping the wolf under wraps if I stay," he said softly.

"Maybe you don't need to," Willow said. "Maybe you just need to accept it and find some peace with it." She looked up into Angel's eyes and he smiled at her. His love was a very wise woman.

"Maybe." Oz stood quietly for a moment, taking the idea in. "I'm gonna head to Devon's, get some sleep. I'll see what I feel after that. But I'm guessing you guys are leaving at sundown tomorrow and I'll say my goodbyes to you guys now, okay?"

"Okay," Willow said, the glint of tears in her eyes. Angel nodded at her and she walked over to Oz and hugged him. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Nothing to be sorry for," Oz replied, hugging her back, a tear or two shining in his own eyes. "Be happy, okay?"

"You, too," she said.

And with that, they parted. "Angel," Oz said.

Angel nodded in reply. Willow looked puzzled by the exchange, but neither man needed to say anything more. With that, Oz turned and walked out of the house.

"Speaking of getting some sleep," Angel said after a long, silent moment.

"Yeah. Sleep would be good." She was obviously drained and the adrenaline crash was happening right before his eyes. Her body was going limp as she stood and he quickly moved to support her.

Angel guided Willow out of the room and up the stairs. He kissed her softly as she sat down on the bed. "Sleepy now," she said as he removed her shoes and she lay down. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow. He decided to forgo changing out of his clothes, instead toeing off his own shoes and lying down beside Willow. He pulled her close to him, realizing for the first time that he was pretty well worn-out himself. It wasn't long at all before he, too, was asleep.

 

*****

 

The day had passed quickly, largely because even the humans had slept through most of it. No one had woken up until half past four. Angel could hear them shuffling about before going downstairs, their steps still leaden and heavy. The battle had drained them…as had the aftermath.

When all was said and done, Angel felt more sympathy than he'd ever expected for Buffy. She had lost Willow, now she was losing Xander…but more than that, she'd also lost her innocence and her illusions. Still, he liked to think that what she'd lost was made up for by what she'd gained, even if she didn't realize that yet. Because if she and Angel weren't a love for the ages, it meant that the best was still yet to come – somewhere in her future was a love that was real and true and special…just like what Angel had found with Willow.

He and Willow packed the few things they'd unpacked in silence, stopping to touch or share a kiss, but both understanding that this was Willow's true leave-taking, and Angel's as well. There was solemnity in that and it made them both grave and quiet.

When they were done, Angel took their bags and they headed down to join their fellows and say their goodbyes. The others were gathered in the living room. Including Oz.

"Hey," he said.

"You're back." Willow grinned as she spoke.

"Yeah. Thought about what you said." He said nothing more, but he didn't need to – his few words were enough. Angel was glad. Not just because he wanted Buffy to have an ally, but because he agreed with Willow that the answer for Oz lay in making peace with himself, not trying to stifle and suppress what he'd become. Sunnydale was probably the best place for him to learn to own the wolf within.

"I, for one, am glad you're going to be here," Xander said, clapping Oz's arm. "You should have seen this guy fight last night, Buffy." Oz smiled shyly and ducked his head.

"Good, because he's got a heck of a pair of shoes to fill." Buffy grabbed Xander and hugged him, using a bit too much Slayer strength if Xander's expression meant what Angel thought it did. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'm gonna miss you, too, Buff."

Even Giles seemed a bit overcome. "Yes, Xander, we'll…" Just as Buffy let go, Xander was embraced again, this time by the reserved Watcher. It lasted for only a few seconds before Giles pulled away, seemingly disconcerted by his own emotional display. "I'll…I'll miss you," he finally stammered out.

"Look what you've done, whelp. You made the Watcher hug you. You can't leave now. That's the closest thing the man's had to a shag since Olivia turned tail and ran." Spike was still trying to avert the inevitable, but his thoughtless words hit Giles with some force and Angel looked at him with not a little compassion.

"He's coming with us, Spike. Deal with it," Cordelia snapped.

Willow went up to Buffy and hugged her. "I love you," she said as she held onto her friend.

"I love you, too, Wills." Then, in a soft voice Angel could only barely make out, she said, "I'm glad you're happy."

The two girls hugged even tighter after that. "You will be too," Willow whispered. "I know it."

"So, you guys are leaving now?" Good job keeping up with the other kids there, Riley. He'd feel sorry for the soldier, now bereft of purpose, if that purpose hadn't been so diabolical. As it stood, it was all he could do to manage to feel anything but disgust for the man…or worse.

"Duh," Cordelia replied. "Like we want to stay here forever. Adam's toast, the Initiative's a memory – our job's done."

"Cordy," Angel warned. "Yes," he said, addressing Riley, "I have a business to run."

"It's not like we can leave the relief Watcher in charge for much longer, either. Nancy boy would wet his pants if any real danger came calling."

Giles chuckled at Spike's mockery of his one-time rival. There were still issues there.

"He's not that bad anymore," Willow argued. "He's actually a lot of help."

"Oh yeah, that computer thing? Pretty slick falling into Adam's trap like that."

"Spike," Willow whined.

"Sorry, Red." Again: how did she _do_ that?

"The sun's down," Xander said. For a moment, Angel was surprised that he was the one to point it out, but then they locked eyes and he understood – Xander was afraid that if they didn't leave soon, he wouldn't be able to leave at all. His burgeoning relationship with Cordelia notwithstanding, Xander was afraid to leave home…to leave Buffy and Giles and the life he knew. A part of Angel was sure that if Willow wasn't going to be there with him, Cordelia's shortest skirts couldn't lure Xander to Los Angeles.

"We'd best be off, then." Spike looked half-resigned, half-ecstatic.

"Goodbye, Giles," Willow said, hugging him.

He seemed only slightly more comfortable embracing her than Xander, but he held onto her for a bit longer. "Take care," he said. "I miss you, too, you know."

"I know," she said. When they parted, there were tears on both sides.

"Be careful," Riley offered, his eyes focused on Willow.

"We will. Thanks," Spike replied, snide as ever.

Oz stood off to the side and Willow looked at Angel, her eyes asking permission. Angel nodded.

He watched as she walked over and spoke softly to the wolf. He could hear nothing of their conversation, but he wasn't concerned. He simply stood and watched as lips moved, exchanging words, and then they embraced. It was friendship and farewell and nothing more. Angel was glad they had their moment.

Soon enough, she was back by his side. "I guess we should go now."

She and Xander went to Buffy, hugging her one last time and shedding a few more tears. There were more tears shed as they each embraced Giles again, though in more restrained fashion, and then Xander picked up his and Cordelia's bags.

"'Bout time," Spike huffed as he hoisted his own suitcase, and with that, he and the others walked outside to the car.

But Angel hesitated. There was one thing he needed to say before going. He walked over to Buffy and took her hand. "You did good," he said, meaning so much more than just her prowess in battle.

"Thanks," she said, trying hard not to let tears give away the turmoil he knew she felt. "You, too."

"Be happy," he said.

Before she could answer, he walked away. Picking up the last of the bags, he headed towards the door. He didn't look back as he headed out to Willow's car. It was done. He got in and turned to Willow, kissing her softly then starting the engine. As the car headed down the drive and onto the road, he took a moment and stared into her eyes, sharing a sense of peace with his love. The battles had been fought and won. They were leaving Sunnydale…at last.

The End


End file.
